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At  ita  O^rgantzatton  Mtttxn^ 
Iftih  t«  Houtamlb.  2C?nturky, 
Nflitembpr  tlj0  Nittfteftitly, 
Nttt^trett  I|un6rpli  unh  (§ns 

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PubliBljrii  3mtr.  1910 


\9iA 


OFFICERS  1909-1910 

PRESIDENT 
C.  W.  METCALF,  PineviUe 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 
NEWTON  W.  UTLEY.  EddyviUe 
CLARENCE  M.  FINN,  Oweiuboro 
JAMES  GARNETT.  Columbia 
VAN  B.  NORMAN.  LoukviUe 
D.  CRAY  FALCONER.  Lexington 
THOMAS  P.  CAROTHERS,  Newport 
H.  H.  TYE.  WiUiamsbuig 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 
JOHN  R.  ALLEN.  Lexington 
S.  D.  ROUSE.  Covington 
JOHN  B.  BASKIN.  Louisville 
J.  D.  MOCQUOT.  P.ducah 
J.  M.  YEAMAN.  Henderwn 
E.  J.  McDERMOTT,  Louisville 

And  the  President,  Treasurer  and  Secretary  Ex-Officio 

TREASURER 
JOHN  K.  TODD.  Shelbyville 

SECRETARY 

R.  A.  McDowell.  LouUviiie 


735637 


INTRODUCTION 


FIRST  EFFORTS  TO  ORGANIZE  BAR  OF  KENTUCKY. 

It  is  probable  that  the  first  general  meeting  ever  held  of 
the  lawyers  of  Kentucky  to  give  their  united  support  to  a 
proposed  legal  reform  was  that  which  was  held  in  Louisville 
shortly  after  the  Civil  War  to  bring  about  such  a  change  in 
the  law  of  the  State  as  to  make  negroes  competent  witnesses 
in  all  cases  in  the  courts. 

The  Revised  Statutes  of  Kentucky  (Chapter  107,  Section 
1,  page  470)  provided: 

"That  a  slave,  negro  or  Indian,  shall  be  a  competent  wit- 
ness in  a  case  of  the  Commonwealth  for  or  against  a  slave, 
negro  or  Indian,  or  in  civil  cases  to  which  only  negroes  or 
Indians  are  parties,  but  in  no  other  case." 

This  was  the  law  before  the  Civil  War  and  when  the  Thir- 
teenth Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
became  effective  in  1865.  The  Civil  Rights  Bill  was  soon 
thereafter  passed  by  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  to  give 
negroes  "the  same  right  in  every  State  and  Territory  in  the 
United  States  to  make  and  enforce  contracts,  to  sue,  be  par- 
ties, and  give  evidence,  inherit,  purchase,  lease,  sell,  hold,  and 
convey  real  and  personal  property,  and  to  full  and  equal 
benefit  of  all  laws  and  proceedings  for  the  security  of  per- 
sons and  property  as  is  enjoyed  by  white  persons." 

In  the  case  of  Bowlin  vs.  Commonwealth,  2  Bush,  5 
(June  5th,  1867) ,  the  Court  of  Appeals  held  that  a  negro  in 
Kentucky  could  not  testify  against  Bowlin,  a  white  man,  who 


6  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

had  been  indicted  for  grand  larceny,  and  that  the  Civil 
Rights  Bill  was  not  intended  to  give  the  negro  such  a  right  in 
the  State  courts,  and  that,  if  so  intended,  it  was  unconstitu- 
tional. Judge  Robertson  wrote  the  opinion  of  the  court,  but 
Judge  Williams  wrote  a  long  concurring  opinion. 

After  this  opinion  was  rendered  and  before  the  session 
of  the  General  Assembly  that  began  on  December  4,  1871,  a 
banquet  in  Louisville  was  arranged  by  the  lawyers  of  the 
State  to  create  a  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  such  a  change 
in  our  Statutes  as  would  enable  negroes  to  testify,  both  for 
their  own  protection  and  for  the  protection  of  the  white  peo- 
ple as  well.  The  banquet  was  held  in  a  hall  on  the  north  side 
of  Market  street,  between  Sixth  and  Seventh  streets.  Sena- 
tor Stevenson,  Isaac  Caldwell,  General  Humphrey  Marshall, 
General  Eli  Murray  and  other  distinguished  men  of  the 
State,  many  of  whom  had  been  in  the  Confederate  Army, 
were  present.  The  speaking  was  fine;  the  jollity  and  the 
champagne  were  super-abundant.  These  lawyers  had  in 
mind,  not  only  the  serious  purpose  mentioned  above  but  also 
the  public  and  private  advantage  to  be  gained  by  more 
friendly  intercourse  between  all  the  members  of  the  profes- 
sion in  the  State.  General  Humphrey  Marshall,  huge  in  size 
and  big  in  brain,  was  one  of  the  noteworthy  speakers ;  and, 
in  his  deep,  powerful  voice  said : 

"The  purpose  of  this  meeting,  gentlemen,  is  to  bring  the 
Court  of  Appeals  into  harmony  with  the  law  of  the  land." 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  honorable  efforts  that  Mr. 
Henry  Watterson  made  to  put  Kentucky  in  the  right  attitude 
after  the  war  was  his  bold  and  brilliant  advocacy  of  th^ 
negro's  right  to  testify  in  the  courts.  The  Thirteenth 
Amendment  (1865),  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  (1868) 
and  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  (1870)  were  not  ratified  by 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  7 

Kentucky.  The  Legislature  met  December  4,  1871.  By  an 
act,  approved  January  30,  1872,  the  General  Assembly  re- 
vised the  Statutes  governing  "the  laws  of  evidence  in  this 
Commonwealth."     The  seventh  section  of  that  act  provided : 

"No  one  shall  be  incompetent  as  a  witness,  because  of  his 
or  her  race  or  color." 

Thus  was  removed  another  unreasonable  barrier  that 
helped  to  keep  some  light  from  the  courts,  though  the  courts 
need  all  the  light  they  can  get.  Other  barriers,  maintained 
on  plausible  but  unsound  reasoning,  still  remain. 

In  1877  the  American  Bar  Association  was  established. 
Its  organization  gradually  brought  about  the  formation  of 
many  State  associations.  The  desire  for  better  standards  of 
practice  in  the  profession  and  for  improvements  in  the  prin- 
ciples and  procedure  of  the  common  law  encouraged  the 
lawyers  of  the  country  to  unite  for  the  general  good.  In 
1879,  the  Hon.  Benjamin  H.  Bristow,  a  Kentuckian,  who  had 
been  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Grant,  and  who  had 
later  moved  to  New  York,  was  elected  President  of  the  Amer- 
ican Bar  Association.  Mr.  Bristow  in  his  address  at  the 
third  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
August  18, 1880,  reviewed  the  multitudinous  acts  of  the  Leg- 
islatures of  the  States  during  the  preceding  year  and  showed 
the  evils  of  special  legislation.  He  called  attention  to  the 
important  and  somewhat  radical  revision  of  the  New  York 
Code  of  Civil  Procedure  and  the  opposition  of  the  older 
lawyers  to  the  changes  made.  He  discussed  "the  railroad 
problem,"  then  beginning  to  have  great  importance  and  to 
call  for  prompt  attention;  and  he  mentioned  the  fact  thati 
Georgia  had  then  established  a  Railroad  Commission,  with 
large  powers,  for  the  investigation  and  regulation  of  rail- 
road rates.    He  noted  the  beginnings  of  local-option  legisla- 


8  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

tion  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  and  the  beginning  of  legisla- 
tive efforts  to  establish  a  regular  system  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  criminals  and  the  passage  of  acts  in  Iowa,  Massa- 
chusetts and  Wisconsin  "for  the  diminution  of  the  terms  of 
imprisonment  of  convicts  in  cases  of  good  behavior."  From 
this  address  we  learn  how  some  of  the  burning  questions  of 
to-day  were  being  considered  at  that  time. 

In  1881,  Col.  George  Baber,  of  Louisville,  established  the 
Kentucky  Law  Journal,  a  monthly  to  which  the  best  lawyers 
of  the  State  contributed  articles,  and  which  was  a  help  to 
the  profession  for  several  years.  Such  a  journal  gave  the 
bar  a  voice  and  a  chance  to  promote  needed  reforms. 
Without  such  a  journal,  lawyers  that  are  not  willing  to 
mingle  in  the  strife  of  politics  have  no  effectual  means  of 
advocating  or  pressing  remedial  statutes  or  of  criticising,  in 
an  unselfish  and  becoming  manner,  the  decisions  and  tenden- 
cies of  the  bench  or  the  omissions  and  errors  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. Efficient  relief  can  not  be  found  in  the  regular  press. 
Law  journals  published  outside  the  State  can  not  help  much 
in  the  discussion  of  our  own  Statutes,  decisions  and  local 
needs.  In  January,  1882,  Col.  Baber  suggested  that  Ken- 
tucky should  follow  the  example  of  Tennessee  and  immedi- 
ately establish  a  State  Bar  Association.  In  February  the 
suggestion  was  renewed.  In  the  March  number  the  need  and 
advantages  of  such  a  society  were  admirably  set  out  in  an 
editorial,  and  on  another  page  appeared  a  formal  call  for  a 
preliminary  meeting  of  the  State  Bar  on  Wednesday,  April 
5,  1882,  in  the  Louisville  Chancery  Court  Room.  It  was 
signed  by  161  lawyers  of  the  State  and  included  the  names  of 
John  G.  Carlisle,  William  Lindsay,  Alvin  Duvall,  William 
Preston,  Isaac  Caldwell,  W.  C.  P.  Breckinridge  and  Joshua 
F.  Bullitt,  and  many  other  honored  names. 

As  the  editorial  referred  to  well  states  the  advantages. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  9 

pleasures  and  limitations  of  such  an  organization,  it  is  worth 
publication  here : 

"Lawyers  are  the  most  social  of  men,  and  no  class  enjoy 
themselves,  when  together,  as  they  do.  And  yet,  although 
Kentucky  is  full  of  bright  minds  and  *  good  fellows,'  although 
every  country  bar  has  in  it  choice  and  original  spirits  en- 
gaged in  the  congenial  profession  of  the  law,  and  to  know 
whom  would  widen  the  horizon  of  us  all,  we  have  gone  on, 
for  generation  after  generation,  scattered,  isolated,  often 
full  of  petty  local  prejudices,  without  devising  any  plan  of 
getting  together  and  becoming  the  friends  that  we  should  be. 

"The  members  of  the  bar  in  other  States  have  not  been 
so  negligent  or  unsocial.  For  years,  there  have  been  flour- 
ishing State  Bar  Associations  in  New  York,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, Indiana,  and  in  other  States,  including  even  sparsely- 
settled  Nebraska;  and  since  1878,  there  has  been  a  splendid 
and  growing  National  Bar  Association,  which  meets  each 
summer  at  Saratoga,  composed  of  members  from  all  the 
States,  and  gathering  at  its  meetings  more  distinguished 
men  than  can  be  found  together  at  any  other  place  in 
America. 

"The  purpose  of  these  State  Bar  Associations  is  not  any 
great  crusade  or  reformation,  nor  any  tedious  course  of  labor 
or  instruction.  It  is  true  that,  at  all  their  meetings,  learned 
addresses  are  made  and  instructive  papers  read  by  appointed 
members ;  but  the  chief  purpose  is  to  bring  the  lawyers  to- 
gether, to  make  them  acquainted  with  each  other,  to  remove 
local  prejudices,  to  form  friendships  and  connections,  to  let 
them  unbend  and  spend  a  day  and  a  night,  or  so,  in  right 
good  fellowship. 

"Where  would  this  be  more  acceptable,  or  do  more  good, 
than  in  Kentucky?  Let  any  lawyer  think  of  how  limited  is 
his  acquaintanceship,  what  a  stranger  he  is  even  to  his  own 


10  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

profession  in  his  own  State,  and  how  few  of  the  leading  men 
in  the  more  than  one  hundred  county  bars  of  this  State  he 
knows,  and  he  will  be  prepared  to  appreciate  what  he  has 
lost,  and  what  he  may  gain  by  the  organization  of  a  State 
Bar  Association  in  Kentucky. 

"A  bright  address  or  two,  half  a  dozen  carefully  prepared 
papers  on  live  subjects,  interesting  and  general  discussions, 
by  lawyers  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  of  current  legal  topics 
and  reforms,  will  certainly  do  good,  once  a  year ;  while  a  rea- 
sonably fine  dinner,  with  speaking,  'on  toast,'  or  'dry  so,' 
would  surely  make  a  bright  day  in  a  prosy  life  to  look  back 
at  and  forward  to.  Nothing  too  heavy,  nothing  too  ambi- 
tious, is  desirable;  but  only  an  attractive,  pleasant  gather- 
ing of  those  who  would  like  to  see  and  know.  And  the 
warming  up  at  a  good  dinner,  kept  within  bounds  of  dignity 
and  refinement,  and  yet  with  its  'feast  of  reason  and  flow  of 
soul,'  will  make  us  all  feel  nearer  to  each  other,  and  add  a 
needed  pleasure  to  our  busy  lives. 

"The  meeting  of  the  Association  might  be  held  at  one 
fixed  convenient  place,  each  year,  as  the  National  Bar  Asso- 
ciation meets  annually  at  Saratoga,  or  the  Association  might 
meet  at  Louisville  one  year,  and  the  next  at  Lexington, 
Frankfort,  Covington,  Paducah,  Maysville,  Bowling  Green, 
Hopkinsville,  etc.,  etc.,  or  at  some  pleasant  watering-place 
like  Grayson  or  Crab  Orchard  Springs.  The  time  might  be 
fixed  in  the  summer  holidays,  or  during  the  Christmas  week. 
The  cost  will  be  but  little,  say  about  five  dollars  per  year  to 
each  member.  The  National  Bar  Association,  with  its 
three  days'  meeting  and  grand  dinner,  at  Saratoga,  has  al- 
ways a  full  treasury  at  a  cost  of  only  $5.00  per  year  for  mem- 
bership and  $5.00  payable  at  time  of  initiating  the  member ; 
and  that  includes  elegantly-printed  copies  of  the  proceed- 
ings, addresses,  papers,  etc.,  to  the  members  for  preserva- 
tion.   Surely  no  one  would  begrudge  that  small  indulgence  to 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  11 

himself  once  a  year  to  enable  Him  to  meet  and  form  friend- 
ships with  the  best  minds  all  over  the  State,  and  to  partici- 
pate in  those  proceedings  so  peculiarly  pleasant  to  lawyers — 
good  speaking  and  instructive  discussions,  with  bright  minds 
and  good  friends." 

Later,  in  the  Louisville  Commercial,  of  which  Col.  R.  M. 
Kelly  was  editor,  appeared  the  following  strong  editorial : 

"All  other  craftsmen  have  associations  for  social  and 
business  purposes,  and  in  New  York  and  other  States,  there 
are  Bar  Associations  which  help  keep  alive  the  esprit  de 
corps  of  the  fraternity,  and  stimulate  the  younger  members 
to  a  proper  pride  in  their  calling.  For  merely  social  rear- 
sons,  the  proposed  association  should  be  warmly  encouraged. 
Lawyers  need  these  friendly  reunions.  They  are  constantly 
engged  in  fierce  conflicts  in  the  courtroom,  and  it  is  a  sani- 
tary measure  to  meet  together,  where  the  spicy  story,  spark- 
ling epigram,  and  good-natured  banter  shall  promote  a  feel- 
ing of  fellowship,  and  assuage  the  bitterness  which  grow  out 
of  hotly-contested  battles  in  the  forum.  In  such  meetings, 
the  mere  lawyer  will  learn  that  his  profession  is  a  liberal  one, 
and  will  be  tempted  to  add  to  his  knowledge  of  blackletter 
lore,  the  graces  and  embellishments  of  literature,  and  the 
ease  which  is  acquired  by  intercourse  with  society.  Such 
men  as  Sergeant  Noon,  Talfourd,  Erskine,  Curran,  Choate, 
Wirt,  Pinckney,  Webster,  Prentiss,  Corwin,  Rowan,  Mar- 
shall were  not  mere  dry  encyclopedias  of  legal  learning ;  they 
had  wit,  taste,  and  general  scholarship.  The  bar  should 
encourage  the  wildest  and  most  elegant  range  of  accomplish- 
ments. De  Tocqueville  said,  the  true  aristocracy  of  the 
United  States  was  the  bar.  If  the  proposition  has  lost  any 
of  its  force,  it  is  due  to  the  growing  carelessness  of  lawyers 
about  the  standing  of  their  own  profession,  and  the  greed 


12  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

for  mere  fees,  which  distinguishes  this  money-making  age. 
A  splendid  State  Bar  Association  will  afford  the  cure  for 
this  unworthy  sloth  and  heedlessness." 

On  April  5,  1882,  a  large  number  of  lawyers  from  all 
parts  of  the  State  met  in  the  Chancery  Court  room  in  Louis- 
ville, and  ex-Chancellor  Horatio  W.  Bruce,  learned,  high- 
minded  and  popular,  and  then  Chief  Counsel  of  the  Louisville 
&  Nashville  Railroad,  called  the  meeting  to  order.  Ex- 
Governor  James  B.  McCreary  was  elected  Chairman  and  Col. 
George  Baber  was  elected  Secretary.  Later  in  the  day  the 
following  officers  were  selected  for  the  first  regular  meeting, 
which  was  fixed  for  June  22,  1882 : 

President — B.  F.  Buckner. 

Vice-Presidents — William  Preston,  Lexington;  John  W. 
Stevenson,  Covington;  C.  F.  Burnam,  Richmond;  James 
Speed,  Louisville;  Isaac  Caldwell,  Louisville;  John  G.  Car- 
lisle, Covington;  John  Feland,  Hopkinsville. 

Secretary — George  Baber,  Louisville. 

Treasurer — James  A.  Beattie,  Louisville. 

Executive  Committee — Thomas  W.  Bullitt,  A.  E.  Rich- 
ards, A.  P.  Humphrey,  George  M.  Davie  and  J.  D.  Reed,  of 
Louisville;  W.  0.  Bradley,  of  Lancaster;  Henry  Burnett,  of 
Paducah. 

First  Annual  Meeting,  1882. 

On  Thursday,  June  22,  1882,  the  Hon.  James  B.  Mc- 
Creary called  the  meeting  to  order  in  the  Council  Chamber 
of  the  city  of  Louisville  and  gracefully  introduced  the  Presi- 
dent, Judge  B.  F.  Buckner,  of  Lexington,  who  delivered  a 
carefully  prepared  and  vigorous  address  on  the  private  and 
public  services  and  the  true  ideals  of  lawyers  and  on  needed 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  13 

legal  reforms.  The  President  recommended  that,  in  a  jury 
case,  as  in  England  and  in  the  Federal  Courts,  we  should 
"return  to  the  system  of  a  charge  by  the  judge,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  argument;"  that  the  jury  should  only  de- 
cide the  question  of  guilt,  leaving  to  the  court  the  right  td 
fix  the  penalty;  that,  in  murder  cases,  the  jury  or  the  judge 
should  have  the  right  to  decide  whether  the  punishment 
should  be  death  or  life  imprisonment;  that  records  should 
be  printed  so  that  all  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
could  read  them  simultaneously,  or  that  the  labors  of  the 
judges  should  be  so  lessened  that  each  would  have  time  to 
read  the  one  written  record  in  order  that  a  case  should  not 
be  decided  practically  on  the  reading  and  summary  of  one 
judge. 

John  Mason  Brown,  a  scholarly,  able  and  successful 
lawyer,  read  an  interesting  paper  on  "The  Old  and  New 
Courts  of  Kentucky,"  a  sketch  of  the  furious  and  famous 
controversy  that  deeply  agitated  the  State  from  1820  to 
1826.  The  Legislature,  on  account  of  the  hard  times, 
passed,  in  December,  1820,  a  "Relief  Law,"  which  stayed  ex- 
ecutions for  two  years  unless  creditors  accepted  payment  in 
depreciated  State  bank-notes.  The  Old  Court  (Boyle,  Ows- 
ley and  Mills) ,  held  the  act  an  impairment  of  contracts  and 
unconstitutional.  The  Legislature  created  a  New  Court 
(Barry,  Haggin,  Trimble  and  Davidge)  to  uphold  the  act. 
At  last  the  old  court  won  the  fight. 

Speeches  were  made  by  Messrs.  C.  B.  Seymour,  John  Fe- 
land,  J.  C.  Poston,  William  Lindsay,  Frank  Hagan  and  B.  F. 
Buckner  on  the  question,  "Should  we  Plead  to  an  Issue?" 
On  Friday,  June  23d,  Mr.  Wilbur  F.  Browder  read  a  paper 
on  "The  Competency  of  Witnesses."  Mr.  Browder  recom- 
mended that  most  of  the  exclusions  of  witnesses  provided  for 
in  section  606  of  the  Civil  Code  be  abolished  and  that  the 
jury  or  judge  should  be  trusted  to  give  proper  weight  to  the 


14  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

testimony  of  witnesses  who  appear  against  infants,  insane 
or  deceased  persons,  etc.,  and  who  should  be  received  with 
caution  but  who  should  not  be  excluded  altogether.  Mr. 
William  Chenault  read  a  paper  on  "Implied  Malice,"  which 
was  much  discussed  by  others  familiar  with  the  criminal 
law.  Mr.  Ira  Julian,  read  a  paper  on  "Sales  of  Land  for 
Taxes."  The  Executive  Committee  offered  for  discussion 
the  question,  "What  is  the  Most  Just  and  Effective  Mode  of 
Regulating  Railroads  by  Law?"  The  subject  was  ably  dis- 
cussed by  Messrs.  George  M.  Davie,  H.  W.  Bruce,  Andy  Bar- 
nett  and  St.  John  Boyle.  Mr.  John  Feland  read  an  instruct- 
ive and  humorous  paper  on  "Statutory  Deformities  and  Le- 
gal Formalities." 

At  this  time  there  were  196  members  on  the  roll  of  the 
Association.  The  most  eminent  lawyers  of  the  State  were 
present.  The  Association  appointed  a  committee  to  consider, 
and,  at  the  next  meeting,  to  make  a  report  on,  the  reforms 
suggested  in  the  President's  address  and  in  Mr.  Browder's 
address  on  Evidence;  and  also  appointed  a  committee  to 
propose,  at  the  next  meeting,  some  reform  in  the  standard  of 
legal  education  required  for  admission  to  the  bar. 

The  Association  then  elected  the  following  officers: 

President — John  W.  Barr,  of  Louisville. 

First  Vice-President — Joseph  D.  Hunt,  of  Lexington. 

Second  Vice-President — Wilbur  F.  Browder,  of  Russell- 
ville. 

Secretary — George  Baber 

Treasurer — James  A.  Beattie. 

Executive  Committee — Thomas  W.  Bullitt,  of  Louisville ; 
John  Bennett,  of  Richmond,  and  James  C.  Boston,  of  Eliza- 
bethtown. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  15 

At  the  banquet  at  the  Gait  House  Gen.  Basil  W.  Duke 
was  toastmaster.  Speeches  were  made  by  Messrs.  J.  B.  Mc- 
Creary,  Gen.  William  Preston,  Isaac  Caldwell,  Curtis  F. 
Burnham,  William  Lindsay,  Andy  Bamett,  George  Baber, 
Thomas  L.  Jones,  Asher  G.  Caruth,  Alpheus  Baker  and  J.  C. 
Beckham. 

About  the  time  of  this  meeting  (June  22,  1882),  Demo- 
cratic conventions  were  held  in  Hopkinsville,  Danville  and 
Lexington  to  nominate  three  judges  for  the  new  Superior 
Court.  Messrs.  James  H.  Bowden,  A.  E.  Richards  and  Rich- 
ard Reid  were  nominated.  They  were  elected  in  August 
and  the  court  was  organized  in  September,  1882.  The  New 
Constitution,  which  went  into  effect  September  28,  1891, 
finally  eliminated  the  Superior  Court  by  providing  only  for 
a 'Court  of  Appeals  of  seven  judges;  but  the  Superior  Court 
did  not  cease  to  exist  until  January  1,  1895. 

Second  Annual  Meeting,  1883. 

On  Thursday,  June  28,  1883,  the  Kentucky  Bar  Associa- 
tion met  for  a  second  annual  session  in  the  Chamber  of  the 
Common  Council  at  Louisville,  Ky.  The  President,  Judge 
John  W.  Barr,  delivered  the  opening  address.  He  called  at- 
tention to  the  general  dissatisfaction  with  jury  trials  and 
stated  that  the  first  consideration  was  to  secure  honest,  im- 
partial and  intelligent  jurors;  that  bystanders  should  not  be 
selected  because  they  were  too  often  chosen  by  a  sheriff  or 
deputy  sheriff  on  personal  or  political  grounds;  that  by- 
standers, not  usually  the  best  class  of  citizens,  often  had  a 
bias  in  favor  of  one  side  or  the  other  in  a  criminal  prosecu- 
tion or  civil  suit,  especially  in  cases  attracting  much  atten- 
tion ;  that  no  bystander  had  been  summoned  in  the  Federal 
Court  in  Louisville  for  three  years,  and  that  no  trial  had 
been  delayed  by  reason  thereof;  that  the  increased  expense 


16  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

was  too  slight  to  be  an  objection;  that  good  citizens  ought 
to  be  compelled  to  serve  on  a  jury  as  a  matter  of  duty  and  to 
have  an  opportunity  of  learning  law  and  patriotism  at  th^ 
same  time;  that  the  accused  and  the  Commonwealth  were 
not  equal  enough  as  to  peremptory  challenges ;  that  the  sym- 
pathy of  jurors  was  generally  with  the  accused,  not  with  the 
Commonwealth ;  that  the  State  should  have  as  many  peremp- 
tory challenges  as  the  accused ;  that  the  selection  of  regular 
jurors  should  not  be  confined  narrowly  to  the  place  where 
an  alleged  criminal  offense  was  committed  or  where  the 
litigants  in  a  civil  suit  resided  and  where  prejudices  for  one 
side  or  the  other  were  most  likely  to  exist. 

Mr.  Williams  Reinecke,  as  Chairman  of  the  Special  Com- 
mittee consisting  of  Mr.  A.  P.  Humphrey,  of  Louisville,  and 
Mr.  J.  D.  Hunt,  of  Lexington,  read  a  long  and  scholarly  re- 
port on  the  "Codification  of  the  Law."  The  report  approved 
our  Codes  of  Practice  and  favored  a  general  system  of  codi- 
fication of  the  law. 

Mr.  George  M.  Davie  read  a  paper  on  "Suing  the  State." 
He  pointed  out  the  evils  of  the  corrupting  lobby,  which  usu- 
ally secures  the  passage  of  special  acts  in  Congress  or  the 
Legislature,  and  advocated  the  transfer  of  such  controver- 
sies from  the  secret  lobby  to  the  open  courts,  saying  that 
such  a  remedy  "will  take  away  from  the  Legislature  the  most 
distracting,  absorbing  and  contaminating  influence  with 
which  it  is  now  beset  and  will  enable  it  to  turn  its  whole 
attention  to  the  more  appropriate  and  seemly  duty  of  pure 
legislation." 

Mr.  Thomas  W.  Bullitt,  of  Louisville,  read  a  valuable 
paper  in  which  he  advocated  the  printing  of  the  records  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals.  After  a  discussion  by  Mr.  C.  B.  Sey- 
mour, of  Louisville,  and  Mr.  John  Feland,  of  Hopkinsville,  a 
resolution  was  adopted  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  five  members  to  draft  a  bill  providing  for  the  printing  of 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  17 

records  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  in  the  Superior  Court. 
Mr.  James  Speed,  of  Louisville,  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States  under  Lincoln,  read  a  report  of  a  committee 
in  favor  of  "Pleading  to  an  Issue."  Mr.  C.  B.  Seymour  and 
Judge  Buckner,  of  Lexington,  opposed  the  system  of  pleading 
to  an  issue.  Judge  Joshua  F.  Bullitt,  of  Louisville,  a  learned 
and  accurate  lawyer,  spoke  in  favor  of  pleading  to  an  issue. 
Mr.  Rozel  Weissinger,  Mr.  James  P.  Helm,  and  Mr.  E.  F. 
Trabue  took  part  in  the  discussion  and  the  Association  by  a 
vote  decided  in  favor  of  pleading  to  an  issue.  On  Friday, 
June  29th,  Mr.  Isaac  Caldwell,  of  Louisville,  a  giant  at  the 
bar,  delivered  a  long  and  vigorous  address,  which  was  a 
defense  of  the  existing  mode  of  trial  by  jury  and  which  was 
indirectly  a  reply  to  the  address  of  Judge  Buckner  of  the  pre- 
ceding year. 

The  proper  method  of  calling  a  constitutional  convention 
to  amend  the  Constitution  of  Kentucky  was  debated  earnestly 
by  Mr.  G.  G.  Gilbert,  of  Taylorsville,  Mr.  Head,  of  Shelby- 
ville,  Mr.  Temple  Bodley,  Mr.  James  P.  Helm,  Mr.  James 
Speed  and  Mr.  C.  B,  Seymour,  of  Louisville ;  and  a  resolution 
offered  by  Mr.  Helm,  as  amended  by  Mr.  Bowden,  was  passed 
to  express  the  opinion  of  the  members  in  favor  of  a  new  Con- 
stitution and  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  five  to  report 
upon  the  matter  at  the  next  annual  meeting.  Mr.  Henry 
Burnett,  of  Paducah,  read  a  paper  on  "The  Rights,  Duties 
and  Liabilities  of  the  Holder  of  Bills  and  Notes  as  Collateral 
Security."  A  report  of  a  Committee  on  Proposed  Reforms  of 
Jury  Trials  was  read  and  adopted,  but  the  question  whether 
the  judge  should  be  allowed  to  charge  the  jury  on  the  evi- 
dence after  the  arguments  of  counsel  was  passed  for  con- 
sideration to  the  next  meeting. 

The  next  question  offered  by  the  Executive  Committee  for 
discussion  was  this:  "Should  there  be  a  Registration  Law 
for  Voters  in  the  State  of  Kentucky?"     Mr.  Edward  J.  Mc- 


18  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

Dermott  and  Judge  W.  0.  Harris,  of  Louisville,  advocated 
such  a  registration  of  voters,  showing  that  such  a  law  did 
not  add  anything  to  the  qualifications  of  voters;  that  the 
courts  of  other  States  had  so  held ;  that  the  first  step  in  the 
reform  of  elections  was  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
voting  of  persons  not  qualified  to  vote  under  the  law.  A 
resolution  approving  such  a  law  was  adopted. 

The  next  matter  discussed  was  the  report  of  the  Special 
Committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  George  M.  Davie  and  St. 
John  Boyle,  of  Louisville,  and  John  Bennett,  of  Richmond,  on 
the  question,  "Whether  railroads  can  be  regulated  by  law; 
and  if  so,  what  is  the  most  just  and  effective  method  to  so 
regulate  them?"  Mr.  Davie  read  a  long  and  carefully  pre- 
pared report  which  affirmed  that  the  Legislature  could  regu- 
late railroads  in  the  absence  of  any  controlling  contract  with 
the  State.  It  was  stated  that  the  ordinary  courts  were  not 
well  fitted  to  regulate  railroads ;  that  a  railroad  commission 
with  the  power  to  investigate,  prosecute  and  decide  upon 
such  matters  would  be  unsatisfactory;  that  for  the  time 
being  there  was  not  sufficient  railroad  business  in  Kentucky 
to  justify  the  formation  of  a  railway  court,  but  that  such  a 
court  would  be  ultimately  needed;  and  that,  in  the  mean- 
time, "The  ordinary  courts  of  the  State  and  Nation  must 
remain  the  best  available  and  practical  resort  for  prevention 
against,  or  indemnity  for,  railway  abuses." 

On  motion  of  Judge  B.  F.  Buckner,  to  give  time  for  full 
consideration,  the  further  discussion  of  this  matter  was 
adjourned  to  the  next  meeting. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  next  year : 

President — Curtis  F.  Bumam,  of  Richmond. 
First  Vice-President — Laban  T.  Moore,  of  Catlettsburg. 
Second  Vice-President — Henry  C.  Burnett,  of  Paducah. 
Secretary — Horace  C.  Brannin. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  19 

Treasurer — James  A.  Beattie. 

Executive  Committee,  in  addition  to  ex-officio  members — 
W.  0.  Dodd  and  John  Mason  Brown,  of  Louisville ;  and  J.  C. 
Beckham,  of  Shelbyville. 

At  the  banquet  at  the  Gait  House  on  Friday,  June  29, 
1883,  Gen.  William  Preston  was  toastmaster.  The  following 
toasts  were  responded  to  by  the  following  persons : 

The  Kentucky  Bar  Association,  Our  Two- Year  Old: 
Judge  P.  B.  Muir. 

His  Honor,  the  Learned  Judge :  Col.  W.  C.  P.  Breckin- 
ridge. 

The  Average  Kentucky  Lawyer:  John  W.  Finnell,  of 
Covington. 

The  Kentucky  Lawyer  at  Large :  R.  C.  Wintersmith,  of 
Washington. 

The  Intelligent  Jury:     E.  E.  McKay,  Bardstown. 

Practicing  Law  under  the  Old  Constitution :  W.  R.  Kin- 
ney. 

The  Real  Trouble  Between  the  Plaintiff  and  the  Defend- 
ant:    Albert  S.  Willis. 

Law,  the  "Sawder"  of  Society:     A.  E.  Willson. 

The  Nature  and  Uses  of  the  Fee :     Geo.  G.  Gilbert. 

How  to  Explain  to  Your  Client  Why  You  Lost  His  Case : 
Byron  Bacon. 

What  Will  Probably  Become  of  the  Lawyer:  Theodore 
Hallam. 

Midnight  Meditations:    Basil  W.  Duke. 

The  speech  of  Mr.  Byron  Bacon  (now  deceased)  was  then 
greatly  applauded  and  has  ever  since  been  admired  as  a 
model  banquet  speech.  It  has  been  frequently  printed  by 
the  law  journals  in  other  States.  He  was  not  only  a  learned 
lawyer  but  a  cultured  man  and  a  great  wit.  His  speech 
deserves  publication  here : 


20  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 


"How  TO  Explain  to  Your  Client  Why  You  Lost  His 

Case." 

[The  following  response  at  the  Kentucky  Bar  Dinner  in 
1883  to  the  toast,  "How  to  Explain  to  Your  Client  Why  Y  ou 
Lost  His  Case,"  has  been  extensively  circulated  in  periodi- 
cals ;  but  to  facilitate  compliance  with  the  frequent  applica- 
tion of  professional  brethren  for  copies,  I  have  put  it  in 
this  form.  BYRON  BACON.] 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Jan.,  1893. 

I  deprecate  the  thought  that  I  respond  because,  from  a 
more  extended  experience  than  my  legal  brethren,  I  bring 
to  the  solution  of  this  question  the  exhaustive  learning  and 
skill  of  the  specialist.  The  characteristic  modesty  of  our 
profession  forbids  that  I  should  arrogate  to  myself  to  in- 
struct the  eminent  lawyers  around  me,  wherein  they  doubt- 
less have  attained  that  perfection  which  only  long  practice 
can  give. 

I  assume,  therefore,  that  the  subject  was  proposed  for 
the  edification  of  novitiates — those  "young  gentlemen"  to 
whom  Blackstone  so  often  and  so  feeling  alludes,  who  after 
a  long  and  laborious  course  of  study,  have  been  found,  upon 
an  examination  by  the  sages  of  the  law,  not  to  have  "fought  a 
duel  with  deadly  weapons  since  the  adoption  of  the  present 
Constitution,"  and  have  been  admitted  to  our  ranks.*  To 
them,  then,  I  shall  offer  briefly  some  suggestions  upon  this 
point,  hoping  that  they  may  not  find  them  of  practical  value 
upon  the  termination  of  their  first  case. 


♦Before  admissictfi  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Kentucky,  the  appli- 
cant is  required  by  the  Constitution  of  that  State  to  make  oath  that 
he,  being  a  citizen  thereof,  has  not  fought  a  duel  with  deadly 
weapons  with  another  citizen  of  the   State. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  21 

The  question,  as  framed,  is  not  unlike  that  with  which 
Charles  II.  long  puzzled  the  Royal  Society.  He  demanded 
the  cause  of  certain  phenomena,  the  existence  of  which  he 
falsely  assumed.  The  answer  was  simply  the  denial  of  the 
existence  of  the  phenomena.  What  lawyer  ever  attempted 
to  explain  the  loss  of  the  case  upon  the  hypothesis  that  he 
had  lost  it?  That  a  lawyer  can  not  lose  a  case  is  as  well 
established  a  maxim  as  that  "the  king  can  do  no  wrong,"  or, 
that  "the  tenant  can  not  deny  his  landlord's  title."  Elimin- 
ate this  error  and  our  question  is  of  easy  solution. 

Coke  tells  us  that  law  is  the  "perfection  of  human  reason ;" 
Burke,  that  it  is  "the  pride  of  the  human  intellect;"  "the 
collected  reason  of  ages,  combining  the  principles  of  eter- 
nal justice  with  the  infinite  variety  of  human  concerns ;"  "the 
most  excellent,  yea,  the  exactest  of  the  sciences ;"  and  the  elo- 
quent Hooker,  that  "her  seat  is  the  bosom  of  God,  her  voice 
the  harmony  of  the  spheres;  all  things  in  Heaven  and  on 
Earth  do  her  homage — the  least  as  feeling  her  care,  the 
greatest  as  not  exempt  from  her  power."  But  we  know 
that,  if  it  be  the  purest  of  reason,  the  exactest  of  the  sciences, 
its  administration  is  not  always  intrusted  to  the  severest  of 
logicians  or  the  exactest  of  scientists.  We  know  that  the 
great,  the  crowning  glory  of  "our  noble  English  common 
law"  is  its  uncertainty,  and  therein  lies  the  emolument  and 
pleasureable  excitement  of  its  practice. 

If,  oblivious  of  this,  you  shall  have  assured  your  client  of 
success  in  the  simplest  case,  the  hour  of  his  disappointment 
will  be  that  of  your  tribulation,  and  professional  experience 
can  extend  to  you  no  solace  or  aid. 

But  your  client's  cause  has  resulted  unfavorably.  You,, 
of  course,  are  never  to  blame;  the  fault  is  that  of  the  judge, 
the  jury,  or  your  client  himself,  and  it  may  be  of  all  three. 
It  becomes  your  duty  to  divert  the  tide  of  his  wrath  intd 
those  channels  where  it  can  do  the  least  possible  harm.     If  he 


22  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

be  a  crank  and  shoots  the  judge  or  cripples  a  juror,  they 
fall  as  blessed  martyrs,  and  their  places  and  their  mantlea 
are  easily  filled ;  but  not  so  readily  your  place  or  your  mantle. 

As  one  of  America's  sweetest  poets,  Mr.  G M.  D * 

has  expressed  it  in  a  touching  tribute  to  our  professional  and 
social  worth,  unequaled  for  delicacy  of  sentiment,  boldness 
of  imagery,  and  beauty  of  diction  in  the  whole  range  of  Eng- 
lish poetry : 

"Judges  and  juries  may  flourish  or  may  fade,        / 
A  vote  can  make  them  as  a  vote  has  made; 
But  the  bold  barrister,  a  country's  pride, 
When  once  destroyed  can  never  be  supplied/'J 

The  selection  then  of  a  target  for  your  client  (I  use  the 
word  "target"  metaphorically)  must  rest  upon  the  peculiar 
facts  and  circumstances  of  the  case  and  the  "sound  discre- 
tion," as  the  venerated  Story  has  it,  of  the  counsel.  But 
avoid,  if  possible,  imputing  the  blame  to  your  client,  for 
although  this  has  been  attended  with  very  happy  results,  yet 
his  mood  at  such  times  is  apt  to  be  homicidal,  and,  moreover, 
you  should  bear  in  mind  that  there  your  aim  is  to  conciliate. 
"Who  wrote  that  note?"  demanded  an  Indiana  lawyer 
who,  under  the  old  system  of  procedure,  had  declared  in 
covenant  as  on  a  writing  obligatory,  and  gone  out  of  court 
on  a  variance. 

"I  got  Squire  Brown  to  write  it,"  answered  his  sorely- 
I)erplexed  and  discomfited  client. 

"I  thought  so,"  sneered  the  learned  counsel.  "Didn't  you 
know  that  no  d —  magistrate  could  write  a  promissory  note 
that  would  fit  a  declaration?" 


*A  member  of  the  Kentucky  bar,  who,  unlike  Sir  William  Black- 
stone,  did  not  forsake  the  muses  when  he  espoused  the  profession 
of  Vhich  he  is  a  distinguished  ornament, 

JA  passage  in  The  Deserted  Village  forcibly  reminds  us  of 
these  lines,  yet  w«  should  be  slow  to  charge  the  author  of  the 
Vicar  of  Wakefield  with  plagiarism. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  23 

First,  as  to  the  jury.  Upon  this  head  I  need  not  enlarge, 
only  remind  you  that  you  are  not  held  by  the  profession  as 
committed  or  estopped  by  any  eulogium,  however  glowing, 
which  you  may  have  pronounced  during  the  progress  of  the 
trial  on  their  intelligence  or  integrity.  It  is  only  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  a  scape-goat  that  the  American  juror  attains  the 
full  measure  of  his  utility,  and  as  such  he  will  ever  be  re- 
garded by  our  profession  with  gratitude  not  unmingled  with 
affection. 

But  it  is  to  the  judge  that  we  turn  in  this  extremity  with 
unwavering  confidence.  The  serenity  and  grandmotherly 
benignity  enthroned  upon  his  visage  is  to  the  layman  that 
placidity  of  surface  which  indicates  fathomless  depths  of 
legal  lore ;  to  the  lawyer  it  bespeaks  the  phlegmatic  tempera- 
ment of  one  whose  mission  is  to  bear  unmurmuringly  the 
burdens  of  others. 

It  comes  upon  you  like  a  revelation,  that  your  weeks  of 
study,  your  elaborate  preparation,  your  voluminous  brief,  are 
all  for  naught  that  the  impetuous  torrent  of  your  eloquence 
has  dashed  itself  against  his  skull,  only  to  envelope  it  in  fog 
and  mist,  and  more  "in  sorrow  than  in  anger"  you  confess 
that  the  presumption  that  every  man  knows  the  law  can  not 
be  indulged  in  his  favor.  Even  your  luminous  exposition 
Has  failed  to  enlighten  him. 

You  need  not  spare  him.  He  thrives  on  abuse.  Year  in 
and  year  out  he  bears  the  anathemas  of  disappointed  law- 
yers and  litigants  with  the  stolid  indifference  of  Sancho 
Panza's  ass  in  the  valley  of  the  pack-staves,  or  beneath  the 
missiles  of  the  galley-slaves,  and  society  comes  finally  to 
regard  him  pretty  much  as  did  Sancho  his  ass.  It  berates 
him,  overtasks  him,  half  starves  him,  and  loves  him. 

But  seriously  considered,  our  question  is  only  a  long- 
standing and  harmless  jest  of  the  bar,  meaningless  in  actual 
practice. 


24  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

The  lawyer  is  untiring  in  his  client's  behalf,  and  the  client 
knows,  be  the  result  what  it  may,  that  he  has  had  the  full 
measure  of  his  lawyer's  industry,  zeal,  and  ability,  and  re- 
quires no  explanation. 

Lord  Erskine  said,  that  in  his  maiden  speech  "he  felt  his 
children  tugging  at  his  gown  and  heard  them  cry,  'Now, 
father,  is  the  time  for  bread,'  "  The  British  bar  applauded 
the  sentiment.  The  American  lawyer  throughout  the  case 
feels  his  client  tugging  at  his  gown,  and  if  unsuccessful  is 
sustained  by  the  consciousness  that  he  has  done  his  whole 
duty  as  God  has  given  him  to  see  and  perform  it ;  and,  should 
he  want  further  consolation,  he  can  open  that  eldest  of  all  the 
books  of  the  law  and  there  read  these  words  which  may 
soothe  his  wounded  spirit,  and  possibly  best  answer  the  ques- 
tion of  to-night : 

"I  returned  and  saw  under  the  sun  that  the  race  is  not  to 
the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  neither  yet  bread  to 
the  wise,  nor  yet  riches  to  men  of  understanding,  nor  yet  fa- 
vor to  men  of  skill,  but  time  and  chance  happeneth  to  them 
all." 

Third  Annual  Meeting,  1884. 

On  Thursday,  June  26,  1884,  the  third  annual  meeting  of 
the  Kentucky  Bar  Association  was  held  in  the  Council 
Chamber  of  the  city  of  Louisville.  President  Curtis  F.  Bur- 
nam,  of  Richmond,  opened  the  meeting  with  a  thoughtful 
address.  He  spoke  of  the  exaggerated  estimate  which  law- 
yers sometimes  place  on  their  position  and  on  the  good 
influence  exercised  by  their  profession ;  but  he,  nevertheless, 
set  out  the  just  claims  of  lawyers  to  general  gratitude  for 
invaluable  public  work  in  all  free  countries.  He  said  that 
the  profession  was  becoming  overcrowded  with  unfit  men; 
that  a  broad  and  thorough  education  and  legal  learning  were 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  25 

essential  to  success;  that  a  new  Constitution  ought  to  be 
adopted ;  that  we  were  irrevocably  committed  to  the  bad  sys- 
tem of  electing  judges  by  popular  vote;  that,  if  elected,  they 
ought  to  be  elected  for  long  terms;  that  by  reason  of  the 
Civil  War  and  other  unfortunate  circumstances,  crime,  es- 
pecially murder,  had,  in  late  years,  greatly  increased  in  the 
State;  that,  however,  the  fundamental  principles  and  pro- 
cedure of  the  criminal  law  were,  on  the  whole,  satisfactory, 
though  some  changes  were  desirable. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  William  Reinecke,  of  Louisville,  a  reso- 
lution was  adopted  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of 
five  lawyers  to  prepare,  for  the  General  Assembly,  a  bill  to 
establish  "a  commission  to  codify  the  body  of  the  existing 
law"  of  Kentucky ;  and  this  motion  was  advocated  by  Mr.  H. 
C.  Brannin  and  Mr.  C.  B.  Seymour,  of  Louisville,  and  by  Mr. 
J.  W.  Head,  of  Shelbyville. 

Mr.  C.  S.  Grubbs,  of  Louisville,  then  read  a  useful  paper 
on  "Warehouse  Receipts." 

Mr.  Emmett  Field,  later  the  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas 
Court,  and  much  beloved,  but  now  deceased,  read  a  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Legal  Education  and  Admission  to  the 
Bar.  This  report  set  out  that  the  standards  of  legal  educa- 
tion had  declined  in  Kentucky  and  that  the  opinions  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  did  not  rank  with  those  of  an  earlier  date ; 
that  there  was  not  enough  study  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  the  law ;  that  too  much  attention  was  paid  to  the  mere 
reading  and  citation  of  cases ;  that  enough  time  was  not  given 
to  the  systematic,  scientific  study  of  the  law ;  that  the  stand- 
ard of  admission  should  be  raised ;  that  the  study  of  law  in 
schools  was  better  than  its  study  in  a  lawyer's  office;  that 
the  bar  had  not  been  jealous  enough  of  its  reputation  nor 
careful  enough  of  its  interests,  but  had  suffered  greatly  by 
allowing  incompetent  men  to  gain  admittance  to  its  ranks. 
The  report  was  approved  by  the  Association. 


26  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

On  Friday,  June  27,  1884,  Mr.  H.  L.  Stone,  of  Mt.  Ster- 
ling, read  a  thoughtful,  valuable  and  vigorous  paper  on  Mu- 
nicipal Government.  He  called  attention  to  the  haphazard 
way  in  which  municipal  charters  were  granted,  and  showed 
how  later,  at  the  request  of  selfish  persons,  without  notice  to 
the  people  or  without  their  approval,  politicians  made  sad 
havoc  of  even  the  best  charters  and  passed  much  ill-advised 
special  legislation.  He  showed  that  a  good  part  of  the  enor- 
mous debts  of  the  cities  was  due  to  this  bad  system;  that 
much  extravagance  and  fraud  grew  out  of  such  unskillful 
or  reckless  or  selfish  tinkering  with  city  charters  and  cun- 
ningly devised  special  acts.  He  said:  "The  Legislature,  at 
its  next  session,  ought  to  pass  a  general  law  on  the  subject 
of  municipal  corporations.  It  should  provide  for  the  classi- 
fication of  our  towns  and  cities;  for  their  advancement  to 
higher  classes  and  reduction  to  lower  ones  when  the  increase 
or  decrease  of  population  demands  it.  Let  the  towns  and 
cities  in  the  State  be  goverened  by  certain  general  rules  and 
laws  applicable  to  all  alike."  He  said,  that,  if  this  plan  were 
followed,  the  cities  and  towns  in  the  State  would  watch  legis- 
lation and  that  the  decisions  of  the  courts  in  one  case  would 
be  a  safe  guide  thereafter. 

Mr.  Rozel  Weissinger  then  read  a  learned  and  entertain- 
ing paper  on  "The  Ex-Parte  Injunction  Under  the  Kentucky 
Code." 

Mr.  Temple  Bodley  read  an  interesting  and  strong  paper 
on  "The  Lawfulness  of  Revising  the  Constitution  by  a  Sov- 
ereignty Convention,"  in  which  he  maintained  that  the  Ken- 
tucky Constitution  could  be  amended  only  in  the  manner 
prescribed  in  its  twelfth  article  and  that  a  Sovereignty  Con- 
vention would  be  unconstitutional  and  revolutionary  and 
that  there  was  no  need  for  so  extreme  a  step.  This  subject 
was  debated  by  Mr.  Feland,  of  Hopkinsville  and  Messrs. 
James  P.  Helm,  Charles  B.  Seymour,  George  M.  Davie,  Laf 


>r^  .  Ma,^^^^  "        f\^ 


KENTUPCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  27 


Joseph  and  L.  N.  Dembitz,  of  Louisville,  and  Mr.  Enoch 
McKay,  of  Bardstown.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Joseph,  the  opin- 
ion was  expressed  that  the  Constitution  should  be  amended 
pursuant  to  its  own  provisions. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  next  year : 

President — William  Lindsay,  of  Frankfort. 

First  Vice-President — John  W.  Finnell,  of  Covington. 

Second  Vice-President — R.  P.  Jacobs,  of  Danville. 

Secretary — Horace  C.  Brannin. 

Treasurer — James  A.  Beattie. 

Executive  Committee,  in  addition  to  ex-officio  members — 
W.  0.  Harris  and  Thomas  Speed,  of  Louisville;  and  D.  H. 
French,  of  Lagrange. 

The  report  of  the  Treasurer  showed  that  though  there 
were  on  the  roll  about  232  members,  only  84  had  paid  their 
dues  for  this  meeting.  Thereupon,  there  was  considerable 
discussion  as  to  the  advisability  of  having  a  meeting  during 
the  following  year.  Crab  Orchard  Springs  was  selected  as 
the  place  of  the  meeting,  but  the  time  of  the  meeting  was 
left  to  the  Executive  Committee.  No  meeting  was  held 
thereafter. 

At  the  banquet  at  the  Gait  House  on  Friday,  June  27, 
1884,  Judge  P.  B.  Muir,  of  Louisville,  was  the  toastmaster. 
Speeches  were  made  by  Judge  W.  F.  Bullock,  of  Louisville ; 
Mr.  John  Feland,  of  Hopkinsville ;  Mr.  James  H.  Mulligan, 
of  Lexington ;  Mr.  Asher  G.  Caruth,  of  Louisville ;  Mr.  Q.  Q. 
Quigley,  Mr.  E.  E.  McKay,  of  Bardstown ;  Mr.  Sterling  B. 
Toney,  of  Louisville ;  and  Mr.  George  M.  Davie,  of  Louisville. 

This  valuable  Association,  though  it  clearly  had  an  influ- 
ence in  shaping  subsequent  legislation,  was  unfortunately 
allowed  to  die.  The  ablest  members  of  the  bar,  engrossed 
with  private  business  or  with  other  public  work,  allowed 


28  ICENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

their  interest  to  wane  and  so  the  State  and  the  profession  lost 
the  benefit  of  their  united  action  on  the  side  of  reform  and 
progress. 

Organization  of  Present  State  Bar  Association. 

The  Kentucky  State  Bar  Association  owes  its  revival  to 
the  efforts  of  members  of  the  Kenton  County  Bar  Associa- 
tion and  the  Louisville  Bar  Association. 

On  January  13,  1900,  a  large  number  of  the  lawyers  of 
Louisville  met  together  in  the  Chancery  Court  room  of  Louis- 
ville. Mr.  E.  J.  McDermott  called  the  meeting  to  order  and 
stated  that  the  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  organize  a 
Louisville  Bar  Association.  James  S.  Pirtle  was  then  elected 
Chairman  and  was  finally  elected  President  of  the  Associa- 
tion. Alex.  P.  Humphrey  was  elected  First  Vice-President ; 
Thomas  W.  Bullitt,  Second  Vice-President ;  Upton  W.  Muir, 
Treasurer;  and  Bernard  Flexner,  Secretary.  The  following 
persons  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  and  did  pre- 
pare the  Constitution  and  By-laws  of  the  Association;  Ed- 
ward J.  McDermott,  Edmund  F.  Trabue,  John  B.  Baskin, 
Walter  P.  Lincoln  and  Upton  W.  Muir. 

At  a  banquet  of  the  lawyers  of  Kenton  County  on  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1901,  in  honor  of  the  centenary  of  the  induction  of 
John  Marshall  into  the  office  of  Chief  Justic  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  Charles  H.  Fisk  was  toastmaster; 
and,  at  the  close  of  the  banquet,  a  resolution  was  adopted 
that  those  present  resolve  themselves  into  a  Bar  Association 
and  that  Mr.  Fisk  be  elected  temporary  Chairman  and  that 
a  committee  be  appointed  to  draft  the  Constitution  and  By- 
Laws.  On  February  16,  1901,  the  Association  was  organ- 
ized and  S.  D.  Rouse  was  elected  President  and  C.  A.  J. 
Walker  was  elected  Secretary. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  29 

On  June  1,  1901,  a  semi-annual  meeting  of  this  Associa- 
tion was  held  at  Heidelberg  near  Newport.  At  the  supper 
W.  H.  Mackoy  spoke  in  favor  of  a  State  Bar  Association  and 
a  motion  to  promote  that  movement  was  unanimously  car- 
ried. On  July  25,  1901,  W.  H.  Mackoy,  Sidney  Arthur  and 
C.  A.  J.  Walker  were  appointed  a  committee  to  take  all  neces- 
sary steps  to  organize  a  State  Association.  On  July  26, 
1901,  Mr.  Mackoy  wrote  to  Mr.  McDermott  of  Louisville: 
"1  should  like  to  have  your  opinion  in  regard  to  the  possibil- 
ity of  organizing  a  State  Bar  Association,  after  you  have 
consulted  with  some  of  the  members  of  your  bar."  Mr. 
McDermott  took  up  the  work  in  Louisville  at  once.  He 
and  Mr.  Mackoy  wrote  to  the  prominent  lawyers  in  all  parts 
of  the  State  and  received  such  favorable  responses  that  the 
time  seemed  favorable  for  the  movement.  On  August  11, 
1901,  Mr.  McDermott  suggested  that  a  call  be  issued  to 
the  bar  of  the  State  to  attend  a  meeting  in  the  fall.  This 
call  was  then  prepared  by  Mr.  Mackoy  and  Mr.  McDermott, 
and  it  was  approved  by  the  Kenton  County  Bar  Association 
on  September  12,  1901,  and  the  following  committee  was 
appointed  to  sign  a  call  for  that  Association :  W.  H.  Mac- 
koy, Chairman ;  C.  A.  J.  Walker,  W.  A.  Byrne,  J.  G.  Tomlin, 
R.  H.  Gray,  Sidney  Arthur,  J.  W.  Bryan,  S.  A.  Rouse,  R.  C. 
Simmons,  W.  McD.  Shaw  and  Walker  C.  Hall. 

On  October  21,  1901,  the  Louisville  Bar  Association 
passed  a  resolution  that  it  approve  of  a  State  Bar  Associa- 
tion and  would  give  its  cordial  assistance.  The  President, 
C.  B.  Seymour,  appointed  Edward  J.  McDermott  a  commit- 
tee of  one  to  co-operate  with  the  committee  of  the  Kenton 
County  Bar  Association  and  with  prominent  lawyers  in  other 
parts  of  the  State. 

On  October  25,  1901,  a  call  was  signed  and  issued.  It 
was  sent  with  a  letter  to  lawyers  in  every  Circuit  Court  Dis- 
trict in  the  State.     This  call  read  as  follows : 


30  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

To  the  Bar  of  Kentucky: 

The  undersigned  members  of  the  bar  deem  it  important 
to  organize  a  vigorous  bar  association  in  this  State. 

Such  associations  exist  in  a  flourishing  condition  in  the 
most  prosperous  and  cultivated  States  of  the  Union,  and  have 
been  instrumental  in  procuring  useful  and  important  legisla- 
tion, and  in  promoting  reforms  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  in 
the  procedure  of  the  courts  and  in  the  administration  of 
justice  generally. 

The  necessity  for  such  an  organization  in  Kentucky  and 
the  benefits  that  will  accrue  from  it,  if  well  sustained,  are 
evident  to  all  thoughtful  lawyers  who  have  given  considera- 
tion to  the  matter. 

The  prestige  and  influence  of  the  bar  have  declined  abso- 
lutely and  relatively ;  there  is  no  bond  of  union  between  the 
lawyers  of  the  State,  and  no  mode,  at  the  present  time,  by 
which  they  can  be  brought  together  to  discuss  the  evils  which 
exist  and  to  suggest  appropriate  remedies  for  their  correc- 
tion. 

Pride  in  the  profession  of  the  law,  as  a  learned  profes- 
sion, apart  from  its  pecuniary  rewards,  should  be  stimu- 
lated ;  the  ethical  standards  of  the  bar,  as  well  as  the  stand- 
ard for  admission  to  membership,  should  be  elevated,  and  to 
accomplish  these  purposes  a  State  Bar  Association  is  the 
most  efficient  instrument. 

With  these  objects  in  view,  a  preliminary  meeting  for 
the  organization  of  a  State  Bar  Association,  for  the  adoption 
of  a  constitution  and  the  election  of  officers  to  serve  until 
the  first  regular  election,  will  be  held  in  the  Courthouse  in 
Louisville,  November  19,  1901,  at  3  o'clock.  To  this  meet- 
ing all  lawyers  throughout  the  State  are  invited. 

As  the  success,  of  the  State  Bar  Association  will  largely 
depend  on  the  formation  of  vigorous  local  bar  associations. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION,  31 

we  suggest  that  a  bar  association  be  organized  in  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  Districts.  Where  necessary  or  convenient  two 
circuits  might  be  combined.  We  hope  that  the  lawyers  to 
whom  this  circular  may  come  will  take  the  trouble  to  call  a 
meeting  of  the  lawyers  in  their  neighborhood  and  start  the 
matter  in  motion.  If  no  association  be  formed  in  theii 
neighborhood,  we  ask  them  to  come  in  person  to  the  meeting 
on  November  19th. 

Edward  J.  McDermott,  Committee  of  Louisville  Bar 
Association. 

W.  H.  Mackoy,  Chairman ;  C.  A.  J.  Walker,  W.  A.  Byrne, 
J.  G.  Tomlin,  R.  H.  Gray,  Sidney  Arthur,  J.  W.  Bryan,  S.  A. 
Rouse,  R.  C.  Simmons,  W.  McD.  Shaw,  Walker  C.  Hall,  a 
Committee  of  the  Covington  Bar  Association. 

R.  P.  Jacobs,  Danville. 

Emmett  M,  DicKson,  Paris. 

R.  A.  Thornton,  Lexington. 

L.  T.  Applegate,  Falmouth. 

W.  H.  Wadsworth,  Maysville. 

John  Hager,  Ashland. 

Chapeze  Wathen,  Owensboro. 

C.  U.  McElroy,  Bowling  Green. 

The  attendance  at  the  meetings,  which  were  held  in  the 
Joint-session  Room  in  the  Courthouse  Annex,  was  much 
larger  than  was  expected,  the  State  being  even  better  repre- 
sented than  the  city.  The  following  lawyers  were  among  the 
visitors  present:  R.  J.  Bugg,  Carlisle;  Malcolm  Yeaman, 
Henderson ;  Gen.  D.  W.  Lindsay,  Frankfort ;  D.  L.  Thornton, 
Versailles;  Will  M.  Scott,  Shelbyville;  Chapeze  Wathen, 
Owensboro;  W.  O.  Davis,  Versailles;  Richard  W.  Miller, 
Richmond;  Thomas  D.  Theobold,  Grayson;  W.  McD.  Shaw, 
Covington;  R.  C.  Simmons,  Covington;  Col.  Robert  A. 
Thornton,  Lexington;  John  Galvin,  Covington;  William  A. 


32  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

Byrne,  Covington;  Jas.  Montgomery,  Elizabethtown ;  Sam- 
uel M.  Wilson,  Lexington ;  R.  S.  Holmes,  Covington,  Jerre  A. 
Sullivan,  Richmond;  S.  D.  Rouse,  Covington;  M.  L.  Harbe- 
sen,  Covington;  Richard  H.  Gray,  Covington;  Charles  J. 
Helm,  Samuel  C.  Bailey,  Newport;  Jas.  W.  Bryan,  Coving- 
ton; Emmet  M.  Dickson,  Paris;  Buckner  Clay,  Bourbon; 
John  T.  Hodge,  Campbell  county ;  W.  H.  Mackoy,  Covington ; 
Thomas  R.  Brown,  Catlettsburg ;  John  D.  Carroll,  New- 
castle; H.  B.  Mackoy,  Covington;  W.  A.  Price,  Covington; 
J.  P.  O'Meara,  Elizabethtown;  Frank  M.  Tracy,  Covington; 
George  H.  Ahlering,  Newport ;  H.  A.  Watkins,  Hart  county ; 
George  Washington,  Newport;  J.  C.  Litchfield,  Leitchfield; 
J.  R.  Sampson,  Middlesboro;  L.  C.  Willis,  Shelby  county;  W. 
J.  Macey,  Henry  Cowle,  Munf ordville ;  R.  W.  Nelson,  New- 
port. 

The  Constitution  and  By-laws  were  prepared  by  Mr.  W. 
H.  Mackoy  and  the  Hon.  James  W.  Bryan,  of  Covington. 

WORK  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

The  first  Kentucky  State  Bar  Association  lived  only  three 
years.  So  soon  did  the  good  purposes  of  its  founders  cease 
to  appeal  to  the  better  judgment  and  the  pride  of  the  profes- 
sion. In  the  succeeding  seventeen  years  the  bar  here  evi- 
dently needed  such  an  auxiliary  as  this  Association.  The 
physicians  and  surgeons  did  much  in  those  years  to  elevate 
the  standard  of  learning  and  skill  in  their  calling  and  to  keep 
pace  with  other  intellectual  callings.  To  become  a  doctor  in 
Kentucky,  it  is  now  necessary  to  start  with  a  fairly  good  gen- 
eral education  and  to  study  medicine  at  a  thorough  college 
four  years;  but  a  so-called  lawyer,  after  private,  desultory 
reading  during  one-fourth  of  that  time,  may  be  admitted  to 
the  bar  to  compete  with,  and  to  impair  the  standing  of,  his 
associates,  while  overcrowding  a  profession  already  too  full 
of  ill-prepared  men  and  in  which  so  many,  with  vain  hopes 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  33 

and  false  pride,  are  drifting  into  "shabby  gentility" — into 
what  the  Germans  call  "ein  glaenzendes  Elend,"  a  glittering 
misery.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  legal  reforms  make 
such  slow  progress  and  that  so  many  of  the  bar  believe  that 
a  lawyer  should  be  allowed  to  use  the  methods,  and  solicit 
business  in  the  manner,  employed  by  men  in  the  humblest 
trades,  although  we  still  talk  of  the  law  as  "a  learned  profes- 
sion." States  all  around  us  are  setting  us  a  good  example 
in  efforts  to  reform  legal  procedure  and  to  keep  the  legal 
profession  in  the  front  rank  of  intellectual  pursuits. 

The  present  Bar  Association  has  now  existed  nine  years. 
It  has  done  some  good.  It  could  do  far  more,  if  it  had  the 
hearty  help  of  the  lawyers  and  the  bench  in  all  parts  of  the 
State.  That  it  has  not  accomplished  all  that  was  desired  or 
expected  is  true,  but  here  is  the  machinery  for  fine  work  and 
lasting  good  to  the  profession  and  the  Commonwealth.  The 
radical  and  successful  reforms  in  pleading,  practice  and  ax)- 
peals  in  England  and  the  prompt  and  satisfactory  adminis- 
tration of  the  criminal  law  there  show  how  urgent  is  the 
call  upon  us  to  arouse  public  sentiment,  to  devise  the  reme- 
dies, to  press  them  through  the  Legislature  and  to  uphold 
them  in  the  courts. 

It  is  a  great  work.  It  should  be  broad  in  scope  and  thor- 
ough. To  carry  it  out  successfully  would  require,  not  mere 
tinkering  here  and  there  by  novices,  but  systematic  study 
and  comprehensive  treatment  by  able  men  with  power  to 
free  themselves  from  the  trammels  of  past  technical  train- 
ing. If  the  task  could  be  as  well  done  here,  as  it  has  been 
done  of  late  in  England,  all  nice,  fine-spun  quibbles  in  plead- 
ing and  practice  would  be  brushed  aside  and  scant  attention 
and  no  sympathy  would  be  given  to  mere  errors  in  proced- 
ure, which  would  be  made  simple,  speedy  and  cheap ;  and  no 
new  trials  or  reversals  would  be  granted  except  where  the 
verdict  or  judgment  was  against  the  party  that,  according  to 
the  very  right  of  the  matter  on  the  merits,  ought  to  win. 


34  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

If  such  reforms  could  be  carried  out  in  only  a  moderate  de- 
gree, Justice  would  no  longer  appear,  sometimes  as  a  cross- 
eyed hag  of  mean  temper  and  at  other  times  as  a  seductive 
coquette,  keeping  "the  word  of  promise  to  our  ear  and  break- 
ing it  to  our  hope,"  but  as  a  true  divinity,  clear-eyed  and 
wise,  giving  her  judgment  only  in  favor  of  the  right,  in  spite 
of  brilliant  tactics  or  technical  slips  of  lawyers. 

Edward  J.  McDermott. 
Louisville,  June  16,  1910. 


OFFICERS 

OF  THE 

Kentucky  State  Bar  Association, 


1901-1902. 


PRESIDENT 
W.  H.  MACKOY CoTingtoa 

VICE-PRESIDENTS 

JAMES  CAMPBELL Paducah 

J.  S.  WORTHAM Leitchfield 

I.  W.  TWYMAN HodgenviUe 

E.  J.  McDERMOTT LouUTiUe 

D.  L.  THORNTON Veriailla 

JAMES  C.  WRIGHT Newport 

THOMAS  BROWN Catlettsburg 

TREASURER 
T.  KENNEDY  HELM.  LouisrUle  Tra»t  BuHding Louiwlle 

SECRETARY 
BERNARD  FLEXNER.  Kentucky  Tide  Building Louisville 


STANDING  COMMITTEES 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

C  J.  HELM    Newport 

R.  S.  HOLMES Covington 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON Newport 

R.  A.  THORNTON Lexington 

F.  W.  MORANCY Louisville 

AND  THE  PRESIDENT,  TREASURER  AND  SECRETARY.  EX-OFFICIO 

COMMITTEE  ON  LAW  REFORM 

W.  O.  HARRIS,  Chainnan,  Louisville 

JOHN  D.  CARROLL New  Castle 

J.  A.  SULLIVAN. ...    Richmond 

LOUIS  McQUOWN Bowling  Green 

MALCOLM  YEAMAN Henderson 

EMMET  M.  DICKSON ParU 

M.  L.  HARBESON Covington 


COMMITTEE  ON  LEGAL  EDUCATION  AND  ADMISSION  TO 

THE  BAR 

HELM  BRUCE,  Chainnan,  Louisville 

E.  S.  JOUETT Winchwter 

W.  O.  DAVIS Veriaille$ 

JOHN  L.  DODD Louisville 

FRANK  M.  TRACY Covington 

JOHN  B.  BASKIN Louisville 

J.  P.  O'MEARA Elizabclhtown 

COMMITTEE  ON  MEMBERSHIP 

JAMES  QUARLES,  Chairman,  Louisville 

JOHN  M.  GALLOWAY Bowling  Green 

J.  R.  SAMPSON Middlesboro 

GEN.  D.  W.  LINDSEY Frankfort 

THOMAS  D.  THEOBALD Grayson 

BUCKNER  CLAY Paris 

CHARLES  McDowell DanviUe 

COMMITTEE  ON  GRIEVANCES 

SAMUEL  M.  WILSON.  Chairman,  Lexmgton 

CHAPESE  WATHEN Owensboro 

RICHARD  W.  MILLER Richmond 

W.  M.  REED Paducah 

FIELD  McLEOD Versailles 

FRANK  STRAUS Louisville 

L.  C.  WILLIS Shelbyville 

COMMITTEE  ON  NECROLOGY 
C.  B.  SEYMOUR,  Chairman,  Louisville 

C  U.  McELROY Bowling  Green 

BERNARD  FLEXNER Louisville 


PROCEEDINGS. 


ORGANIZATION  MEETING 
1901. 


Pursuant  to  call,  various  lawyers  from  different  parts  of 
Kentucky  assembled  in  the  Joint  Session  Hall  of  the  Louis- 
ville Courthouse  on  November  19,  1901.  The  meeting  was 
called  to  order  by  Mr.  E.  J.  McDermott,  of  Louisville,  as 
follows : 

In  behalf  of  The  Louisville  Bar  Association,  gentlemen, 
I  welcome  you.  This  association  and  the  Covington  Bar 
Association  have  called  this  meeting  in  the  hope  that  a 
useful  and  permanent  State  association  may  be  established. 
We  have  not  forgotten  the  wrecks  of  the  past.  We  do  not 
deceive  ourselves  with  Utopian  dreams  of  future  power  and 
glory.  We  know  the  difficulties,  but  we  feel  that  we  can 
accomplish  at  least  a  little  in  a  field  wherein  the  lawyers  of 
other  States  have  done  much.  What  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
New  York  and  the  other  States  have  done  we  can  do.  We 
are  behind  them  in  some  things,  but  we  are  not  by  nature 
incompetent  to  deal  with  the  organization  of  the  bar  and  the 
reform  of  palpable  evils  in  the  administration  of  justice.  In 
some  of  the  best  States  such  associations  have  flourished  for 
twenty  years  and  have  brought  about  practical  reforms.  If 
we  can  exist  for  five  years,  we  shall  greatly  benefit  the  State 
and  our  profession. 

We  certainly  need  to  take  counsel  together.  The  status 
of  the  bench  and  bar  can  not  be  regarded  as  gratifying  by 
any  thoughtful  lawyer  among  us.  In  the  first  place,  the 
method  of  examining  and  admitting  lawyers  to  the  bar  is 
absurd.  Six  months'  study  of  the  code  and  statutes  and  a 
few  elementary  books  will  admit  anybody  into  our  ranks. 


38  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

It  takes  more  time  than  that  to  become  a  carpenter  or  a 
plumber.  The  doctors  of  our  State  by  their  organization 
have  made  it  now  almost  impossible  for  a  quack  to  degrade 
their  profession  by  humbugging  the  public.  The  law  was 
once  thought  to  be  a  learned  profession.  Can  it  be  so  con- 
sidered here  now?  How  can  we  make  any  advance  in  our 
efforts  to  give  efficiency  and  dignity  to  our  calling  unless  we 
guard  its  entrance  against  ignorance?  Instead  of  allowing 
every  Circuit  Judge  in  the  State  to  appoint  examiners  to  go 
through  the  farce  of  asking  applicants  the  A,  B,  C's  of  the 
law,  we  should  have  a  State  examining  Commission  of  good 
lawyers,  selected  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  or  a  State  Bar 
Association,  with  power  to  prescribe  tests  suitable  to  show 
that  every  applicant  has  a  reasonably  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  law  and  a  good  character. 

In  the  second  place,  we  should  see  to  it  that,  after  fit  men 
are  admitted  to  the  bar,  they  shall  conduct  themselves  as 
honest  and  reputable  and  self-respecting  men  should.  If 
we  do  not,  by  joint  effort,  make  it  unsafe  to  do  dishonest  or 
discreditable  things,  unbecoming  a  gentleman,  we  can  not 
hope  that  there  will  be  any  high  standard  of  ethics  at  the 
bar.  We  certainly  can  not  expect  the  judges  or  private  indi- 
viduals to  do  this  disagreeable  but  necessary  task  for  us. 

In  the  third  place,  many  reforms  are  needed  in  the  Code 
are  admitted  to  the  bar,  they  shall  conduct  themselves  as 
changes  must  be  made  by  the  Legislature,  and  if  we  could 
speak  in  behalf  of  the  bar  and  bench  of  the  whole  State,  our 
recommendations  would,  no  doubt,  be  carefully  considered 
and  probably  be  carried  out.  One  of  the  deputy  clerks  here 
tells  me  that  three-fourths  of  all  the  cases  tried  by  juries  in 
his  court  are  damage  suits,  and  many  of  them,  of  course,  are 
petty  and  purely  speculative ;  and  yet  they  crowd  the  docket 
and  postpone  other  cases.  Litigation  of  other  kinds  has 
probably  decreased  on  account  of  the  expense  and  delay  of 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  39 

suits.  We  must  find  some  means  of  making  litigation  cheaper 
and  speedier.  Poor  people  are  often  excluded  from  the 
higher  courts  by  the  costs;  and  yet  justice,  on  easy  terms, 
should  be  open  to  all.  At  the  present  time,  immense  records, 
costing  hundreds,  even  thousands,  of  dollars,  are  sent  to  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  when  the  questions  involved  are  few  and 
simple.  We  often  do  not  dare  to  use  selected  parts  of  the 
record,  for  fear  that  the  Court  of  Appeals  will  affirm  the  case 
without  consideration,  merely  because  it  is  subsequently 
thought  that  some  paper  below,  omitted  by  oversight,  should 
have  been  copied.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  be 
able  safely  and  cheaply  to  send  a  small  record  to  that  court 
for  consideration,  if  that  record  will  show  all  that  is  really 
necessary  for  the  decision  of  the  case.  That  system  would 
spare  the  money  of  litigants  and  the  time  of  the  court.  Even 
now,  in  spite  of  the  court's  best  efforts,  it  is  behind  in  its 
docket ;  and  yet  litigants  ought  to  have  quick  decisions,  and 
in  some  States  do  get  their  relief  in  one-third  the  time  re- 
quired here. 

The  Legislature  is  about  to  meet.  Whatever  we  want 
must  be  presented  at  once ;  and  surely  we  ought  to  be  able 
to  do  something  to  elevate  the  bar  and  to  help  the  bench  and 
to  benefit  the  people.  The  main  business  of  the  State  is  to 
preserve  order  and  to  administer  justice;  and  yet  that 
function  of  our  government  is  not  performed  as  it  should  be. 
If  we  do  our  duty  we  can  surely  bring  about  long-needed 
reforms  and  win  the  thanks  of  the  public,  while  giving  power 
and  dignity  to  our  calling.  Most  of  the  laws  of  our  country 
are  made,  interpreted  and  administered  by  lawyers ;  that  is 
our  pride  and  boast;  and,  as  we  have  the  power,  we  must 
be  responsible  for  its  execution.  Now  that  our  Legislature 
is  limited  to  a  session  of  sixty  days,  and  legislation  must  be 
discussed  and  perfected  in  advance,  or  be  passed  without 
sufficient  consideration,  it  is  all  the  more  important  that  we, 


^  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

in  advance,  should  give  what  help  we  can  to  improve  the 
laws  governing  the  administration  of  justice  by  the  courts. 
If  a  litigant  can  not  be  heard  quickly  and  at  little  cost,  and  if 
crimes  are  not  surely  and  promptly  punished,  we  must  share 
much  of  the  blame,  and  we  ought  to  see  to  it  that  justice  shall 
be  administered  in  this  State  as  cheaply,  as  unerringly  and  as 
speedily  as  in  any  State  of  the  Union,  or  in  any  country  on 
the  globe. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  ask  you  for  nominations  for 
Temporary  Chairman. 

Judge  Pirtle  :  I  move  that  Judge  Warren  E.  Settle,  of 
Bowling  Green,  be  made  Temporary  Chairman  of  this  meet- 
ing. 

The  nomination  being  seconded  and  a  vote  being  taken, 
was  unanimously  concurred  in,  and  Judge  Settle  took  the 
chair. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  Gentlemen  of  the  State 
Bar  Association — To  say  that  I  am  astonished  at  my  selection 
to  this  position  would  but  feebly  express  my  surprise.  I 
thank  you  for  the  exceedingly  great  compliment  you  have 
done  me  in  making  me  Temporary  Chairman  of  this  meet- 
ing, for  I  regard  it  as  a  great  compliment  indeed  to  preside 
over  a  body  of  able  lawyers  such  as  I  find  before  me  to-day. 

I  am  in  full  accord  with  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the 
State  Bar  Association,  or  of  the  Association  which  is  to  be 
formed  by  the  lawyers  of  the  State.  I  can  present  no  better 
evidence  of  this  fact  than  to  inform  you  that  although  my 
own  court  at  home  is  in  session,  I  left  it  to-day  for  the  pur- 
pose of  coming  up  here  to  be  present  at  this  meeting.  There 
is  no  question  that  an  association  of  this  kind  can  be  made 
to  result  in  incalculable  good  to  the  lawyers  of  the  State,  as 
well  as  to  the  people  of  the  State  generally.    If  it  accom- 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  41 

plishes  no  other  purpose,  it  will  be  well  worth  maintaining 
because  of  the  opportunity  it  will  afford  the  members  of  our 
profession  throughout  the  State  to  meet  for  social  intercourse 
and  mutual  improvement. 

But  there  are  other  ways  in  which  an  association  of  this 
sort  can  accomplish  great  good,  as  has  been  intimated  by  the 
gentleman  who  called  this  meeting  to  order.  The  members 
of  our  profession  all  over  the  State  know  full  well  that  there 
are  enrolled  in  its  membership  some  who  are  unworthy  of  a 
place  in  its  ranks,  not  so  much  because  of  their  ignorance  of 
the  law  as  of  their  want  of  moral  character. 

It  occurs  to  me  that  one  of  the  greatest  purposes  for 
which  this  organization  should  be  maintained  is  to  adopt 
such  measures  as  will  restrain  known  or  suspected  persons 
of  that  character  from  doing  acts  which  are  unprofessional. 

In  my  judgment  one  of  the  first  and  most  important 
steps  will  be  the  adoption  of  measures  that  will  secure  an 
elevation  of  the  standard  of  admission  to  the  bar  in  the 
State.  Lawyers  are  necessary  leaders  of  thought  and  of 
men.  It  has  always  been  so  the  world  over.  It  must  con- 
tinue so,  because  in  point  of  education  and  intelligence  they 
aire  fitted  for  leadership.  It  is  their  business  to  familiarize 
themselves  with  the  formation  of  government,  with  the  rela- 
tion of  government  to  the  governed  and  the  relation  of  the 
laws  to  each  other.  They,  more  than  any  other  class,  must 
directly  participate  iii  administering  the  law,  and  they  are 
therefore  more  nearly  concerned  in  all  that  affects  the  main- 
tenance of  public  order  and  public  weal.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion in  my  mind  but  that  concert  of  action  on  the  part  of  the 
members  of  the  bar  of  the  State  of  Kentucky  can  bring 
about  any  needed  reform.  I,  therefore,  think  it  is  important 
that  we  should  form  ourselves  into  such  an  association  as  is 
contemplated  by  this  meeting,  in  order  that  we  might  take 
such  steps  to  correct  the  abuses  that  exist  in  our  State,  and 


42  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

bring  about  those  legal  and  judicial  reforms  that  are  neces- 
sary for  the  good  of  our  people  and  for  the  good  of  our  own 
profession. 

Without  extending  my  remarks,  I  again  thank  you  for 
the  compliment  you  have  done  me,  and  we  will  now  proceed 
to  such  business  as  may  be  suggested. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Helm :     I  move  that  E.  L.  McDonald,  of  this  city, 
be  made  temporary  Secretary. 

This  motion  was  seconded  and  carried. 

Mr.  Mackoy:  The  next  step  is  the  appointment  of  a 
Committee  on  Constitution  and  By-laws,  and  I  move  the 
appointment  of  such  committee. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  Do  I  hear  a  second  to 
that  motion? 

Mr.  James  P.  Helm  :    I  second  it. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  How  shall  that  commit- 
tee be  appointed? 

Mr.  Mackoy:    By  the  Chair. 

The  Temporary  Chairman  :  You  have  heard  the  mo- 
tion.   Are  there  any  remarks? 

No  remarks  being  offered,  and  a  vote  being  taken,  the 
motion  was  carried. 

Mr.  McDermott:  While  the  Chairman  is  naming  his 
committee  I  have  some  letters  and  a  telegram  that  I  will 
read: 

They  were  as  follows: 

Mt.  Sterling,  Ky.,  Nov.  19, 1901. 
President  of  Louisville  Bar  Association,  Louisville,  Ky.: 

The  Mt.  Sterling  Bar  this  morning  adopted  resolutions 
concurring  in  the  Bar  Association  movement  and  will  organ- 
ize local  branch.  A.  A.  Hazelrig. 


kentucky  state  bar  association.  43 

Greenville,  Ky.,  Nov.  19,  1901. 
E.  J.  McDermott,  Sec.  Kentucky  Bar  Asso.,  Louisville,  Ky.: 
Regret  can't  be  at  meeting;  present  my  name  for  mem- 
bership. Jep  C.  Johnson. 

Falmouth,  Ky.,  Nov.  18,  1901. 
Hon.  E.  J.  McDermott: 

Dear  Friend — I  had  thought  I  would  be  present  at  the 
meeting  to-morrow  for  the  forming  of  a  State  Bar  Associa- 
tion, but  I  find  I  can  not  come.  I  am  anxious  that  such  an 
association  will  be  formed.  I  will  do  anything  in  the  future 
in  my  power  to  help  in  the  matter.  I  have  not  had  time  to 
see  the  lawyers  of  this  district  yet,  but  will  make  an  effort 
to  form  a  district  association.  You  may  count  me  in  on 
whatever  is  done.  Yours  truly, 

Leslie  T.  Applegate. 

The  Temporary  Chairman  :  I  appoint  as  members  of 
the  committee  provided  for : 

W.  H.  Mackoy,  of  Covington,  Chairman ;  James  S.  Pirtle, 
of  Louisville ;  Frank  P.  Straus,  of  Louisville ;  John  M.  Gal- 
loway, of  Bowling  Green,  and  Jerry  Sullivan,  of  Richmond. 

Mr.  James  Montgomery  :  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would 
be  proper  to  have  an  enrollment  of  those  who  wish  to  become 
members  of  the  Association,  so  as  to  know  who  can  vote. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  I  presume  that  is  emi- 
nently proper.    How  can  that  be  taken  ? 

Mr.  Montgomery  :    We  might  call  the  counties. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  That  is  all  right,  if  any 
gentleman  will  kindly  furnish  a  list  of  the  counties,  but 
otherwise  some  of  them  would  be  overlooked. 


44  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

Mr.  McDermott:  If  all  the  gentlemen  will  give  their 
names  to  the  Secretary,  it  will  save  time.  Besides,  we  do  not 
know,  until  the  committee  reports  what  formalities  will  be 
necessary. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  I  think  that  is  a  good 
suggestion. 

Mr.  McDermott:  While  we  are  waiting,  I  would  like 
to  submit  a  letter  from  Judge  DuRelle  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals. 

The  letter  was  read  as  follows : 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  November  18,  1901. 
Hon.  E.  J.  McDermott,  Committeeman  of  Louisville  Bai* 
Association,  Louisville,  Ky.: 

My  Dear  Sir — I  regret  exceedingly  that  the  condition  of 
the  docket  is  such  Ihat  I  shall  not  probably  be  able  to  attend 
the  meeting  next  Tuesday  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  State 
Bar  Association.  The  purpose  of  the  meeting  has  my  heart- 
iest approval  and  sympathy.  It  is  a  matter  in  which  we  are 
far  behind  most  of  our  sister  States. 

If  a  State  Bar  Association  can  be  established,  it  can  effect 
great  good  in  bringing  to  the  consideration  of  the  General 
Assembly  well-considered  and  carefully  and  accurately  pre- 
pared bills.  The  Association  should,  in  my  judgment,  give 
especial  consideration  to  obtaining  a  uniform  system  of  ex- 
amination of  applicants  for  admission  to  the  bar,  and  to  the 
simplification  of  records  in  cases  brought  to  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  by  securing  legislative  authority  for  the  selection 
and  printing  of  those  parts  of  the  record  which  are  neces- 
sary to  the  decision  of  the  appeal,  and  the  exclusion  of  the 
"rubbish"  which,  under  the  present  system,  is  necessary  to 
be  examined.  Tlie  adoption  of  such  a  system  as  to  records 
would  greatly  cheapen  the  cost  of  appeals  and  would  prevent 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  45 

an  enormous  waste  of  time  which  is  unavoidable  under  the 
present  system. 

It  may  be  that  the  recommendations  of  the  Association 
will  not  be  adopted  in  their  entirety  by  the  Legislature,  but 
I  have  no  doubt  that  at  least  substantial  progress  can  be 
made  in  the  right  direction. 

Very  sincerly  yours, 

George  DuRelle. 

Mr.  Seymour:  I  desire  to  turn  over  to  the  Secretary 
the  resolutions  of  the  Calloway  Bar  Association. 

The  resolutions  were  read  as  follows: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Murray  Bar  of 
Murray,  Calloway  County,  Ky.,  this  day  held  at  the  court 
house  in  said  city,  with  Judge  Thomas  P.  Cook,  Judge  L.  C. 
Linn,  Judge  W.  F.  Peterson,  Hon.  A.  D.  Thompson,  Hon.  R. 
T.  Wells,  Conn  Linn,  J.  H.  Coleman,  Will  Linn,  Charles 
Jetton,  John  R.  Schroader,  G.  C.  Dingnid,  N.  B.  Bamett  and 
Ed.  P.  Phillips,  all  members  of  said  bar  being  present. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Judge  Thomas  P. 
Cook,  who  briefly  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  where- 
upon motion,  Judge  Thomas  P.  Cook  was  made  Chairman 
and  Conn  Linn  was  elected  Secretary. 

Then,  on  motion.  Judge  L.  C.  Linn,  W.  F.  Peterson  and 
J.  R.  Schroader  were  appointed  a  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
and  retired  and  returned  the  following  resolutions,  which 
were  unanimously  adopted  and  ordered  sent  to  the  Louisville 
Bar  Association,  viz. : 

"Be  it  resolved  by  the  Murray  Bar  Association,  now  in 
convention  assembled.  That  we  heartily  endorse  the  effort  of 
Hon.  Charles  B.  Seymour  and  other  members  of  the  Louis- 
ville bar  in  their  efforts  to  organize  a  State  Bar  Association, 


46  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

and  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  aid  and  assist  in  such  efforts, 
and  sincerely  believe  that  such  an  association  would  greatly 
benefit  our  profession  in  this  State. 

"L.  C.  Linn, 
"W.  F.  Peterson, 

"J.  R.  SCHROADER, 

Committee." 

The  foregoing  are  the  minutes  and  resolution  adopted  by 
the  Murray  Bar  Association  at  Murray,  Ky.,  this  November 
18,  1901. 

Thomas  P.  Cook,  Chairman. 

Conn  Linn,  Secretary. 

The  Temporary  Chairman  :  I  suppose  the  mere  read- 
ing of  documents  of  this  kind  is  sufficient. 

Mr.  McDermott  :  Some  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  had 
this  meeting  in  charge  requested  Mr.  T.  Kennedy  Helm  to 
read  a  paper  on  the  experience  of  other  State  Bar  Associa- 
tions, and  while  we  are  waiting  on  that  committee  1  move 
that  he  be  requested  to  read  his  paper. 

The  Temporary  Chairman  :  I  suppose  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  put  that  motion  formally.  Let  the  gentleman  come 
around,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  hear  him. 

Mr.  Helm  was  introduced  and  addressed  the  meeting  as 
follows : 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION,  47 

Gentlemen  of  the  Bar  of  Kentucky: 

I  esteem  it  an  honor  to  be  requested  to  address  you  upon 
this  occasion. 

The  subject  assigned  to  me  is,  "The  Procedure  and 
Achievements  of  the  Bar  Associations  of  other  States." 

Were  I  not  addressing  men  accustomed  to  rely  more  upon 
precedents  than  personal  experience,  I  should  certainly  feel 
as  Elihu  did  when  he  interposed  in  the  discussion  of  the 
counsellors  of  Job  and  said :  "I  am  young  and  you  are  very 
old." 

At  the  outset  I  feel  compelled  to  comply  with  the  request 
of  the  committee  in  charge  of  this  meeting  by  reading  to 
you  a  table  of  statistics  showing  the  facts  relating  to  the 
organization  of  other  Bar  Associations.  I  ask  you,  there- 
fore, to  bear  with  me  while  I  give  you  these  facts  in  a  con- 
centrated form. 


48 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 


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KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  49 

There  are  nearly  three  hundred  Bar  Associations  in  the 
United  States.  Of  the  above  list,  seventeen  have  been 
organized  more  than  five  years.    •.     ;  ; ;;   .;..  ■  - 

Dues.  Of  the  above,  the  dues  of  eight  are  $5,  eleven 
less  than  $5,  and  two  more  than  $5. 

Secretary.  Twelve  pay  their , Secretary,  nine  do  not; 
five  pay  $200  or  over ;  seven  pay  between  $100  and  $200. 

Time  of  Meeting.  Thirteen  meet  soon  after  summer 
adjournment  of  court;  five  meet  at  the  opening  of  court. ^t 

Place  of  Meeting.  Seven  in  State  Capitol;  eight  at 
cities  designated ;  six  at  summer  resorts. 
.'  Membership.  All  composed  of  individuals.  One,  how- 
ever, requires  membership  in  local  association,  if  one  exists 
at  residence.  Two  that  formerly  required  membership  in 
local  associations  abolished  the  requirement*  m;-  ^  iio  i?::/,:  j 
•:,  Judges.  In  seventeen  States  the  judges  take  an  active 
interest  in  the  work,  but  generally  qaft  ;nQt.  hQlA  Qfi&c^i  ;  ,Ip 
three  the  interest  Of  the  judges  is  laxs  bbiim  o<i  :cn  v/^rn  <  v 

I  desire  to  state  parenthetically  that  I  have  turned  over 
to  Mr.  E.  L.  McDonald,  Secretary  of  the  Louisville  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, the  last  annual  reports  of  twenty-three  different 
State  associations,  and  that  therein  will  be  found  the  facts 
4iereafter  stated,  and  that  these  reports  may  be  referred  to 
by  members  of  the  Association  and  will  be  found  useful  on 
many  matters  that  we  may  hereafter  undertake.,  ?,i,/  ;i 

The  declared  objects  of  the  various  Bar  Associations  dif- 
fer but  immaterially.  In  fact  the  purposes,  as  declared  in 
:ijie  constitutions  of  a  majority  of  them,  are  **to  advance  the 
science  of  jurisprudence,  to  promote  reform  in  the,  law,  to 
facilitate  the  administration  of  justice,  to  uphold  inte^ty, 
honor  and  courtesy  in  the  legal  profession,  to  encourage 
thorough  legal  education,  and  to  cultjvatie  coj^^^lintercourge 
among  the  menibers  of  the  bar."  -    /'    v //      ';■-:'. 

Cf/.  In  facing  the  present  ^mdertaking  it  is  a  matter  of  deep 


30  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

interest  to  us  to  know  by  what  methods  and  to  what  extent 
the  Bar  Associations  of  other  States  have  succeeded.  Their 
work  to  this  end  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  three 
classes : 

1.  The  securing  of  direct  legislation  and  the  adoption 
of  rules  for  the  purpose  of  elevating  the  standard  for  the 
admission  of  applicants  to  the  bar. 

2.  The  bringing  to  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  for  its 
revision  the  general  laws  of  the  State  on  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects. 

3.  By  securing  an  esprit  de  corps  in  the  profession,  re- 
sulting from  the  feeling  that  in  union  there  is  strength,  as 
well  as  the  opportunity  for  mutual  benefit  and  enjoyment. 

Rightly,  the  first  concern  of  the  Bar  Associations  is  to 
elevate  and  uplift  the  standing  of  its  members.  "First  cast 
out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye,  and  then  shalt  thou  see 
clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye."  That 
we  may  not  be  called  hypocrites,  let  us,  therefore,  first  think 
of  our  own  weaknesses  before  those  of  our  neighbors. 

It  is  said  an  Indiana  Judge  advised  a  young  lawyer  that 
he  must,  "first,  get  on ;  second,  get  honor ;  third,  get  honest." 
The  purpose  of  Bar  Associations  has  been  to  change  this 
order,  and  uphold  it  is  the  duty  of  the  lawyer,  first,  to  be  hon- 
est ;  second,  to  get  on ;  and  third,  fairly  to  get  honor. 

It  was  a  fact  in  many  States,  as  it  is  to-day  in  Kentucky, 
that  it  was  easier  for  a  man  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
nominally  become  a  lawyer  than  it  was  for  him  to  become  a 
physician,  dentist,  pharmacist  or  minister.  It  will  not  be 
claimed  that  this  resulted  from  the  law  being  the  easiest  of 
professions,  or  because  it  imposed  the  least  responsibilities. 

Therefore  we  find  that  the  Bar  Associations  of  Colorado, 
Florida,  Georgia,  Iowa,  Maryland,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Missouri,  New  York,  North  Carolina,  North  Dakota,  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  West  Virginia  and  Wisconsin  have 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  51 

succeeded  in  getting  either  the  Legislature  by  act,  or  the 
court  of  last  resort  by  rule,  to  prescribe  the  qualifications  and 
standard  of  examinations  for  admission  to  the  bar. 

Briefly,  these  requirements  are  that  the  applicant  must 
have  a  general  education  at  least  equal  to  that  required  for 
graduation  in  a  public  high  school,  which  must  be  evidenced 
by  either  a  certificate  of  graduation  of  a  high  school  or  pri- 
vate academy  of  equivalent  standing,  or  he  must  have  a 
diploma  or  certificate  showing  he  is  a  graduate  or  matricu- 
late of  a  college  or  university,  or  in  some  States  in  the 
absence  of  any  of  these  he  must  stand  an  academic  examina- 
tion which  is  prescribed. 

Then  a  Standing  Committee  of  State  Bar  Examiners — 
say,  of  nine  members,  of  which  three  retire  each  year — is 
appointed  by  the  court  of  last  resort,  and  it  is  made  the  duty 
of  this  committee  or  a  majority  thereof  to  hold  examinations 
at  designated  times  and  places  upon  prescribed  branches  of 
the  law.  The  examinations  are  conducted  in  writing,  and 
the  answers  must  sustain  an  average  grade  of  at  least  sev- 
enty-five per  cent.  These  examination  papers  and  the  re- 
port of  the  committee  are  returned  to  the  court  and  kept  per- 
manently on  file.  This  examination  need  not  be  taken  by 
applicants  holding  a  diploma  from  a  law  school  which  has 
an  approved  standing. 

In  many  States  at  least  three  years'  study  in  the  law  is 
made  compulsory.  In  1897  a  Committee  of  the  American 
Bar  Association  after  careful  investigation  recommended  a 
request  to  all  law  colleges  to  maintain  a  three-years  course 
of  study.  It  is  true  the  report  was  not  adopted,  but  at 
Saratoga  in  1900  the  "Association  of  Law  Schools  of  the 
Nation"  determined  after  September,  1901,  to  require  a 
previous  academic  examination,  as  described  above,  and  a 
tRree-years  course  of  study  of  the  law.  This  subject  should 
be  of  interest  to  us,  because  to-day  in  Kentucky  no  fixed 


5J  iCiEN'TUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

sta,ndard  is  required  in  the  applicant  for  the  bar,  either  as  to 
his  academic  or  legal  education.     rA:n  /  j  ji  ^^yi  :>.,.  --  rauyj 

The  second  step  towards  the  improvement' of  tHe  bar ^ 
for  the  State  Bar  Associations  to  adopt  a  code  of  legal  ethics. 
Such  codes  have  been  adopted  by  the  Bar  Associations,.;! 
believe,  in  Georgia,  Maryland,  Michigan,  North  Carolina, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Virginia.  In  some  States  legal  ethics  are 
made  a  part  of  the  course  of  study  and  are  embraced  in  the 
examination  of  the  applicant. 

^  These  codes  are  usually  simply  the  application  of  general 
^inciples  to  the  particular  circumstances  that  arise  in  the 
practice  of  law,  the  purpose  being  to  impress  upon  the 
mind  of  the  lawyer  that  he  owes  his  first  duty  to  the  State 
or  its  courts  as  an  officer  thereof,  and  that  there  can  be  no 
obligation  to  his  client  which  the  law  condemns  or  which  has 
for  its  object  an  evasion  or  perversion  of  the  law.  The 
maxim  is :  Deal  fairly  and  courteously  with  the  bench  and 
thebar.  :;:;;, ■;!•.::.  ^-i/'  t  .  ■-       .'■;;.  '^ii: 

In  still  another  way  iiie  Bar^ Associations  exercise  an  iri- 
fluence,  and  that  is  by  appointing  a  standing  committee  on 
investigation  and  grievances,  whose  duty  it  is  to  be  on  the 
alert  to  discover  and  to  vigorously  prosecute  unprofessional 
conduct  or  malpractice  at  the  bar.  The  duties  of  this  com- 
mittee are  not  nominal,  though  its  existence  has  a  strong 
restraining  influence,  as  an  examination  of  the  reports  of  the 
associations  of  other  States  will  show.  In  Illinois,  for  in- 
stance, at  the  last  meeting  this  committee  reported  it  had 
effected  during  the  year  four  disbarments  and  had  four  other 
cases  under  investigation.       •  •' 

^i'  The  second  office  of  the  State  Bar  Association  has  been 
to  effect  reforms  in  the  law.  That  great  jurist.  Lord  Bacon, 
said :  "Every  man  owes  a  duty  to  his  profession,"  and  Mr. 
Choate  has  hunforously  a^ded  that  with  respect  to  the  law 
"every  man  in  the  community  owes  a  duty  to  our  profes- 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  J3 

sion."  While  we  are  pleased  to  think  this  is  true,  it  is  cer- 
tain our  profession  owes  a  duty  to  every  man  in  the  com- 
munity. We  have  all  subscribed  to  an  oath  of  office  requir- 
ing us  to  "support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Constitution  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  be  faithful  and 
true  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky,"  and  to  "faithfully 
execute  to  the  best  of  our  ability  the  office  of  attorney  at 
law  according  to  law." 

To  even  enumerate  the  accomplishments  of  the  Bar  Asso- 
ciations of  other  States  is  impossible.  However,  the  suc- 
cesses of  some,  in  addition  to  those  above  referred  to,  may  be 
of  interest  to  us  and  show  the  power  which  they  possess. 

In  Nebraska  a  commission  was  appointed  for  the  relief 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  from  its  being  five  years  behind 
with  its  docket  it  can  now  practically  decide  cases  as  soon  as 
argued.  In  Georgia  the  number  of  Supreme  Court  judges 
was  increased.  In  North  Carolina  the  number  of  inferior 
judicial  districts  was  increased  from  twelve  to  sixteen.  In 
Ohio  additional  courts  have  been  created,  and  a  new  building 
ahd  library  costing  $400,000  has  been  obtained  from  the  leg- 
islature for  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  salaries  of  its  judges 
fsaterially  increased. 

-:•.  i.The  reports  of  five  States  show  that  their  respective  Bar 
Associations  are  responsible  for  the  adoption  of  laws  tending 
to  the  establishment  of  that  uniformity  in  the  laws  of  several 
States  which  has  been  the  cherished  object  for  years  of  the 
American  Bar  Association. 

Several  State  Bar  Associations  have  secured  measures 
for  the  improvement  of  the  methods  of  selecting  and  securing 
the  attendance  of  jurors. 

In  fourteen  States  the  Codes  of  Practice  have  been  re- 
vised and  improved.  In  Illinois,  after  years  of  considera- 
tion and  discussion,  the  State  Bar  Association  has  recom- 


54  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

mended  to  the  Legislature  the  abandonment  of  common-law 
procedure  and  the  adoption  of  a  Code  of  Practice. 

In  several  States  acts  have  been  adopted  at  the  instance  of 
Bar  Associations,  and  in  Ohio  and  Georgia  such  are  now 
under  consideration,  abolishing  in  civil  cases  the  scintilla 
rule  of  evidence  and  authorizing  the  trial  judge,  if  of  the 
opinion  a  verdict  in  favor  of  the  party  having  the  burden 
should  be  set  aside,  to  direct  such  verdict  as  the  law  and  the 
evidence  requires. 

In  four  States  the  Bar  Associations  claim  the  credit  for 
the  establishment  of  the  Torrens  system  of  land  registration. 

I  am  informed  by  the  last  President  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Bar  Association  that  the  last  Legislature  of  that  State  passed 
without  the  change  of  a  word  eight  or  ten  important  bills 
which  were  reconamended  by  that  association. 

I  could  enumerate  many  other  reforms  that  have  been 
accomplished,  but  must  be  content  with  saying  that  the 
power  for  good  of  Bar  Associations  seems  almost  unlimited ; 
that  there  is  no  point  from  the  details  of  procedure  to  the 
regulation  of  municipal  and  private  corporations  at  which 
they  have  failed  to  meet  success. 

The  third  great  consideration  in  the  formation  of  a  Bar 
Association  is  as  to  how  interest  and  activity  are  to  be  main- 
tained. The  answer  should  not  be  difficult.  A  desire  to  be 
of  use  and  benefit  to  our  State  and  its  citizens,  and  the  feeling 
that  this  can  best  be  accomplished  by  the  lawyers  acting  as  a 
body  should  be  sufficient.  If  we  stand  united,  the  history  of 
other  Bar  Associations  shows  all  the  possibilities  I  have 
suggested  may  be  accomplished. 

But  beyond  this,  a  Bar  Association  can  undoubtedly  do 
much  indirectly  for  the  improvement  of  the  profession  by  the 
cultivation  of  a  closer  social  relation  among  its  members. 
Other  associations  make  their  annual  banquets,  at  which  the 
weightier  discussions  of  the  law  are  laid  aside,  the  occasion 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  55 

for  much  merriment  and  goodfellowship,  which  finds 
expression  both  in  the  prepared  and  impromptu  after-dinner 
speeches. 

Interest  is  maintained  by  the  free  and  full  discussion  of 
the  reforms  to  be  undertaken,  and  by  addresses  and  papers 
carefully  prepared  for  the  annual  meetings,  by  members  of 
the  Association  and  illustrious  visitors  upon  subjects  of 
moment  and  interest  to  the  bar. 

And  by  honoring  the  worthy  among  the  living,  and  the 
memory  of  our  distinguished  dead,  we  will  keep  ever  before 
us  the  achievements  and  character  of  those  who  have  been 
an  adornment  to  our  profession,  and  whose  lives  are  worthy 
of  our  respect  and  emulation.  We  will  honor  our  profession 
for  the  fruits  it  has  borne. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  Is  there  any  action  de- 
sired with  reference  to  the  paper  that  has  been  read? 

Mr.  McDermott:  Just  let  it  be  referred  to  the  Secre- 
tary. 

The  Committee  on  Constitution  and  By-Laws  here 
returned  into  the  room,  and  the  report  was  read  by  Mr. 
Mackoy  as  follows : 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  You  have  heard  the  re- 
port of  the  committee.  Is  it  desired  that  it  be  taken  up  sec- 
tion by  section?    See  page  96  for  Constitution. 

Mr.  Peckinpaugh:  I  move  that  it  be  adopted  as  a 
whole. 

Mr.  Montgomery:  I  think  it  would  be  better  if  any 
member  desires  to  have  opportunity  to  amend  any  particular 
article,  and  then  it  can  be  voted  on  as  a  whole.  I  think 
Article  8  and  possibly  Article  15  need  amendment.    Article 


M  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

15  relates  to  the  payment  of  dues.  You  all  look  rather 
sleek,  well-kept,  and  there  is  a  vast  responsibility  on  your 
part  to  those  who  keep  you  well-kept.  And  it  is  the  duty 
you  ought  to  perform  here.  Now  we  have  1  don't  know  how 
many  lawyers  in  Kentucky.  A  good  many  more  than  we 
ought  to  have.  You  could  do  without  me,  for  instance.  I 
think  we  should  come  here  to  work,  and  I  don't  think  we 
should  have  too  much~  revenue.  The  danger  of  too  much 
revenue  is  that  we  will  spread  too  much.  The  desire  is  that 
we  shall  have  every  lawyer  in  the  State  of  Kentucky  belong- 
ing to  the  Associatjpn^  and  I  believe  the  smaller  the  fee  the 
better,  ^-xa  5sv;i  3^cd'v  br:£  .r.-jiaez^yzq,  I'ju  o:  indcdinobfi  rLS 

"  'The  Temporary  Chairman:  As  there  is  nothing  of- 
fered in  the  way  of  amendment,  the  question  is  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  report  as  a  whole. ^..-.nu-  n      >  .-r... .- ..  .^  ^    -. .-.  ^ 

A  vote  being  taken,  the  fejporfc  of  the  committee  was 
adopted. 

Mr.  McDermott  :  I  move  that  the  chair  appoint  a  com- 
mittee for  nominating  officers,  and  that  they  be  requested  to 
report  at  the  evening  meeting  in  this  hall.  I  would  suggest 
that  the  number  be  seven. 

..,'  Mr.  Th(«NTON:  I  personally  know  that  there  are  a 
number  of  gentlemen  who  are  going  away  before  to-night's 
meeting,  and  if  we  could  possibly  carry  into  execution  the 
enrollment  before  they  go  away  it  would  save  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  hereafter. 

The  Temporary  Chairman:  That  will  not  interfere 
with  the  appointment  of  the  committee. 

^  Mr.  Thornton,*.,  I  uoderstood.tbat:the.enrol]znent  was 

to  be  postponed.    -£  be^a  ci  r.:;i:':A  "I'ire^cq  bi\<  i  t>/j:nA 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  ^ 

■'  'Mr.  McDe  No;  my  motion  was  that  the  Com- 

mittee on  Nominations  should  report  at  the  evening  meeting. 

•^■'  Mr.  Dixon  :  I  move  as  a  substitute  that  the  committee 
report  at  this  meeting.  A  great  many  of  the  gentlemen  are 
going  away,  and  it  seems  to  me  they  should  have  a  voice  in 
the  selection  of  permanent  officers. 

A  vote  being  taken,  the  substitute  was  adopted,  and  a 
further  vote  being  taken,  the  motion  as  amended  by  the 
adoption  of  the  substitute  was  carried..  ""','. 

'--Mr.  Pirtle:  I  move  that  we  now  proceed  witli  the  en- 
rollment, so  that  we  will  know  who  are  eligible. 

a  I  The  enrollment  was  then  proceeded  with,  and  the  follow- 
ing was  the  result:    See  pages  10.3-105  for.  list  of  members. 

The  Committee  on  Nominations  was  then  appointed,  as 
follows;  one  member  frpm  each  Aj>pellate^Courl:  District: 

-^■^^l^^tocolmYeamaii.'--^-^'^^  ^"^^-^  ^^^'  aot-nivo:)  :s  nc-r 
■■'^^2.-  Chapeze  Wathem^-'^^'^  '^^  eIcf:>5c^q^^;  ^^-^^  ■:  mdi  :  no:: 
^^■3.  'J.  P.  O'Meara.  ■'-^'^'■'  ^-^^^  ^^'"'^^  :iri:o-innoj  or:  s:--: 
"-'-^^^'Alex.  P.  Humphi^^^^  ^^'^'  ^^'''  -^-  "^  ^^  .-i^dJ^^o: 
-^rf^;  JohnD.Carroll.-^^^^^^^  ^^^-  «  ^-  ^^^-^-'^^  -"'-  ^^-" 
^^  6.  S.  B.  Rouse. -'-^  '^  no::s:ooa«A  tfiO.  laool  srir  e5;:ao^cf 
^^-7.-E.  S.  Jouett--^  /ivJJsm  airlt  ni  ^-nualn:  <^dj  ^Au:  a 

-"J  This  committee,  after  quite  a  lengthy  deliberation,  re- 
p)rted  as  follows : 

W.  H.  Mackoy,  President,  Covington.  -^^^^  '^^  ^^^' 

•i^^  Kennedy  Helm,  Treasurer,  Louisville.  '  ^  -■^■''''^  ^isdT 
10    Bernard  Flexner,  Secretary,  Louisville.  ^'''*   '■"*'  *"  '■•^* 
ys    Vice-Presidents :     James    Campbell,    Paducah;    J.    S. 
Wortham,  Leitchfield;  I.  W.  Twyman,  Hodgenville;  E.  J. 


58  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

McDermott,  Louisville;  D.  L.  Thornton,  Versailles;  James 
C.  Wright,  Newport;  Thomas  Brown,  Catlettsburg. 

Mr.  R.  H.  Gray:  I  move  that  the  report  be  received, 
adopted,  and  the  officers  elected  as  a  whole. 

The  motion  was  seconded,  and,  the  vote  being  taken,  was 
carried.  The  newly-elected  president  was  escorted  to  the 
chair  and  spoke  as  follows : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Kentucky  State  Bar  Association:  It 
is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  appreciate  highly 
the  honor  you  have  conferred  upon  me.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  I  should  say  so  in  words,  because  it  seems  to  me  the  posi- 
tron is  one  that  requires  that  I  should  by  my  deeds  hereafter 
•as  far  as  I  can,  endeavor  to  justify  the  choice  you  have  made. 
At  this  hour  of  the  evening  I  do  not  propose  to  detain  you  by 
any  extended  remarks.  I  think  I  can  recommend  myself  to 
the  Association  as  its  presiding  officer  better  by  brevity  than 
by  a  prolonged  speech.  It  seemed  to  our  local  Bar  Associa- 
tion at  Covington  that  there  should  be  a  State  Bar  Associa- 
tion ;  that  it  was  impossible  for  local  Bar  Associations  hav- 
ing no  connection  with  each  other,  nothing  to  bind  them 
together,  to  fill  the  need  that  existed;  that  it  was  necessary 
that  there  should  be  a  State  Association,  and  I  take  it  that 
because  the  local  Bar  Association  at  Covington  was  the  one 
to  take  the  initiative  in  this  matter,  although  it  has  been 
nobly  helped  here  at  Louisville,  especially  by  Mr.  McDer- 
mott, yet  I  take  it  that  the  honor  conferred  upon  me  is  in- 
tended rather  as  an  honor  to  the  Covington  Bar  Association 
than  to  me. 

There  was  a  necessity,  as  I  have  said,  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  this  Association.  It  is  necessary  that  the  lawyers  of 
the  State  of  Kentucky  should  be  brought  together ;  that  they 
should  learn  to  know  each  other,  and  that  they  should  be 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  59 

brought  in  touch  with  one  another,  so  that  a  spirit  of  com- 
radery  may  be  generated  among  them.  There  was  a  time 
in  the  history  of  Kentucky  when  the  circuits  were  large  and 
when  lawyers  traveled  from  circuit  to  circuit,  and  when  the 
home-like  country  tavern  was  the  Bar  Association  of  Ken- 
tucky. And  under  that  training  and  that  intercourse  among 
the  members  of  the  bar  there  was  produced  here  in  Kentucky 
as  strong  and  capable  a  body  of  lawyers  as  could  be  found  in 
any  State  in  the  Union. 

The  past  history  of  the  bar  of  Kentucky  is  one  that 
reflects  credit  upon  the  State  not  only  so  far  as  the  laws  of 
the  State  are  concerned,  but  so  far  as  its  political  govern- 
ment is  concerned,  because  lawyers  were  largely  lawmakers. 
They  made  public  opinion.  They  had  not  resigned  or  retired 
from  the  position  which  they  seem  now  to  have  relinquished 
to  some  extent,  but  they  stood  in  the  front  rank  on  all  mat- 
ters that  pertained  to  the  welfare  of  the  State,  and  they  made 
public  sentiment. 

Now,  I  do  not  think  that  here  in  Kentucky  we  occupy 
relatively  quite  as  important  a  position  as  we  once  did.  We 
are  not  united  one  with  another.  We  are  working  separately 
and  disjointedly.  We  have  retired,  I  think,  to  some  extent, 
from  politics.  You  know  it  is  an  old  maxim,  inter  arma 
silent  leges,  and  I  think  possibly  political  life  has  grown  too 
war-like  for  lawyers,  and  so  we  have  retired  to  the  quiet 
practice  of  law.  But  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  endeavor 
now  to  bring  the  bar  up  to  the  position  it  once  occupied  in  the 
history  of  the  State.  We  have  the  opportunity,  and  if  we  do 
not  avail  ourselves  of  it  the  fault  will  rest  with  ourselves 
rather  than  with  anyone  else,  because  I  think  the  bar  of  Ken- 
tucky has  as  many  able  men  in  to-day  as  it  ever  had.  Possi- 
bly because  they  are  engaged  in  material  pursuits,  looking 
after  private  interests,  they  have  neglected  to  some  extent 
that  more  important  matter,  that  matter  which  every  edu- 


^  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

cated  body  of  men  should  look  after  and  care  for ;  they  have 
failed  to  look  after  the  growth  and  development  of  the  State 
in  some  respects,  and  have  failed  to  promote  that  public  sen- 
timent for  good  government  that  they  should  have  done. 
But  I  trust  that  this  Bar  Association  will  be  the  commence- 
ment of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  Kentucky,  and  that  the 
lawyers  of  Kentucky,  as  they  did  in  the  earlier  days,  will  be 
found  taking  an  important  part  in  everything  that  pertains 
to  the  good  government  and  welfare  of  the  State.  I  do  not 
mean  by  that  its  material  progress.  I  mean  that  as  profes- 
sional men,  as  men  of  education  and  learning,  it  is  our 
duty  to  do  that  which  we  can  in  the  State  and  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  we  live  to  develop  the  law,  promote  a 
respect  for  the  law,  to  introduce  proper  practices  in  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law  in  all  respect^  .^at^Atwe^m^y.  agam  S^l*«l4 
where  we  once  did.  b-    ^-i  -r-'i'  'uf  .^rr-';:"^'  ;♦:'-:-  rr 

1*1,  It  is  unnecessary  at  this  time,  after  the  remarks  made 
by  Mr.  Helm,  that  I  should  outline  in  any  respect  what  it 
is  the  duty  of  an  Association  of  this  kind  to  do.  It  would  be 
anticipating  the  work  of  the  committees  who  will  lay  out  the 
matters  that  are  to  be  looked  after.  It  is  important,  in  the 
first  place,  that  we  should  not  undertake  to  do  too  much ; 
that  we  should  concentrate  our  energies  on  the  evils  that 
immediately  need  correction ;  that  we  should  not  spread  our 
energies  over  too  large  a  surface,  but  devote  ourselves  to  the 
great  ev:ls  and  endeavor  to  remedy  them  speedily ;  and  if  we 
go  at  it  in  a  proper  spirit,  without  envy  or  jealousy,  we  shall 
no  doubt  be  able  to  correct  many  evils.  I  know  the  opinions 
and  wishes  of  a  body  as  large  as  this  will  receive  respectful 
ijonsideration  f  rom  the  governing  bodies  of  this  State. 
,  -  I  thank  you  again  for  the  honor  that  has  been  conferred 
upon  me,  an4  shall  endeavor,  as  best  I  can,  to  show  my 
appreciation  of  it  by  a  proper  discharge  of  the  duties  which 
may  be  incumbent  upon  me.  ;/: '_.::: i  j: 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  6i 

There  was  no  further  business  before  the  meeting,  and  on 
motion  the  Association  adjourned  until  7:30  P.  M. 

EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Association  met  pursuant  to  adjournment  and  was 
called  to  order  by  the  President. 

The  President  :  We  have  still  to  elect  five  members  of 
the  committee  that  will  have  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Association  together  with  the  President,  Secretary,  and 
Treasurer.  The  first  business  will  be  the  election  of  the  five 
members  of  that  committee.-  ;      .  ^j ;  :      ^   :,.....;  A 

V  Charles  J.  Helm,  R.  S.  Holmes,  George  Washington,  R. 
A.  Thornton  and  F.  W.  Morancy  were  placed  in  nomination, 
and  on  motion  of  Mr.  McDermott,  the  Secretary,  cast  one 
ballot  for  the  gentlemen,  and  they  were  declared  elected 
members  of  such  committer.        ,      ,.  _^,,,,   ,    .....    r 

'  The  President  :  As  to  the  appoihtmeirt  of  the  commit- 
tees that  the  President  has  to  name,  they  are  important,  and 
I  thiiifc  it  is  proper  that  I  should  take  some  time  before 
hatning  them.  The  newspapers  will  announce  the  eomrtlit''- 
tees.  '■  ■-  -■■-  ■  ■     ■        ■■  ^"-'-   '  ""■''■'  ' 

.vtr;]:  .-a    ■-:    r:.£.'..  '.^•'  '.vO-i^    :■:'    ■".  ■•l-^    ■r.':z\    .:.:;-}';  :s 

"The  next  business  iixprto  ¥^ll  lie  a  paper  by  Mr»  G*  B-. 
Seymour,  of  this  <jity.  - ,  r":    j?s:^  •  ;r  .       .) 

*r   The  paper  was  read  as  follows  ;"S.     '   :V    .,    J  .,  1  W'S. 

'^•■"lli^^ave  been  reiquestfe3  to  read  a  paper  on  the  subjecift 


62  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

"How  to  Make  Appeals  Cheap,  Easy  and  Available." 

The  importance  of  the  subject  will  be  readily  appreci- 
ated. There  is  a  great  contrast  in  the  matter  of  appellate 
practice,  between  the  state  of  thing  existing  when  I  came 
to  the  bar,  in  1868,  and  the  state  of  things  now  existing. 
So  far  as  delay  is  concerned,  matters  are  radically  different. 
It  was  no  usual  thing  then  for  an  appellant  who  was  unwill- 
ing to  supersede  to  replevy  the  execution  which  issued  upon 
a  judgment,  the  idea  being  that  before  the  return  day  of  an 
execution  upon  a  replevin  bond  he  might  have  a  reversal. 
This  seems  to  our  younger  practitioners  almost  incredible. 
A  repleving  bond  runs  only  three  months,  and  if  you  add 
four  months  for  the  lifetime  of  the  two  executions,  the  entire 
period  covered  is  seven  months.  Nobody  expects  any  such 
prompt  decision  of  appeals  nowadays.  If  an  appeal  is  de- 
cided within  eighteen  months  from  the  time  at  which  it  is 
prayed,  we  all  think  we  have  obtained  quite  a  speedy  deci- 
sion.   Is  there  a  cure  for  this  state  of  things  ? 

So  likewise  as  to  the  availability  of  appeals.  Statutory 
changes  have  made  access  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  much 
more  difficult  than  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  I  remember  a 
meeting  of  the  bar  of  the  State  in  1871 ;  at  that  meeting  it 
was  proposed  to  ask  the  Legislature  to  raise  the  limit  of 
appeals  from  $50.00  to  $100.00.  Judge  William  S.  Bodley, 
who  sat  beside  me,  said  very  earnestly :  "No,  no ;  that  will 
cut  out  one-fourth  of  the  State  from  an  appeal."  And  he 
explained  that  in  the  mountain  counties  folks  hardly  ever 
trade  for  more  than  $50.00.  Now  the  limit  of  appeals  is 
$200.00  on  judgments  for  recovery  of  money  or  personal 
property. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  should  be  a  few  statutory 
changes  in  reference  to  the  Court  of  Appeals.  And  first  as 
to  the  mode  of  praying  an  appeal.     The  present  Code,  sec- 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  63 

tion  734,  says:  "The  mode  of  bringing  the  judgment  of  an 
inferior  court  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  reversal  or  modifi- 
cation shall  be  by  an  appeal  which  shall  be  granted  as  a  mat- 
ter of  right  to  a  party  or  privy  against  a  party  or  privy  by 
the  court  rendering  the  judgment  on  motion  made  during 
the  term  at  which  it  is  rendered,  or  thereafter  by  the  Clerk 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals,"  etc.,  section  734,  Civil  Code.  The 
word  "thereafter"  in  this  sentence  was  not  in  section  876 
of  the  previous  Code.  It  was  introduced  at  the  time  the 
Cbde  was  revised,  and  took  effect  January  1,  1877.  Public 
attention  does  not  seem  to  have  been  called  to  the  change, 
but  the  change  is  a  most  important  one,  for  it  enables  the 
Circuit  Judge  who  has  rendered  a  judgment  to  block  all  ac- 
cess to  the  Court  of  Appeals  until  after  the  end  of  the  term 
of  court  by  the  simple  expedient  of  refusing  to  grant  an 
appeal.  Plainly  this  ought  not  so  to  be.  If  the  court  ren- 
dering a  judgment  is  unwilling  to  grant  an  appeal,  the 
party  entitled  to  the  appeal  should  have  the  right  at  once  to 
ask  the  appeal  from  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and 
should  not  be  compelled  to  take  the  risk  that  the  judgment 
will  be  enforced  before  the  end  of  the  term,  when  he  is  ready, 
able  and  willing  to  give  a  satisfactory  supersedeas  bond.  It 
will  be  remembered  by  old  practitioners  that,  in  the  contest 
between  Smith  and  Cochran  for  the  Commissionership  of 
the  Louisville  Chancery  Court,  an  appeal  was  refused  by  the 
Chancellor,  and  was  granted  with  supersedeas  by  the  Clerk 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  the  judgment  thereupon  was 
reversed.  During  the  sixty  days  which  constitutes  a  term 
in  Circuit  Courts  having  continuous  session,  much  can  be 
done  towards  obtaining  an  enforcement  of  the  judgment, 
and  if  that  judgment  be  erroneous,  serious  injury  may  be 
done.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  word  "thereafter"  should  be 
struck  out  of  this  section,  and  that  parties  entitled  to  an  ap- 
peal should  be  allowed  to  pray  the  same  from  the  Clerk  of 


64  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

the  Court  of  Appeals  at  any  time  before  the  right  to  appeal 
is  barred  by  limitation. 

An  interesting  illustration  of  the  present  condition  of  the 
law  is  found  in  an  appeal  recently  decided  by  the  Court  of 
Appeals ;  though  the  appeal  was  prayed  four  years  ago,  and 
was  decided  more  than  a  year  ago,  and  though  petition  for 
a  rehearing  of  the  same  has  been  overruled,  still  counsel  are 
seriously  contending  that  the  judgment  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals  is  a  nullity,  because  it  turns  out  that  the  appeal  was 
prayed  from  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  on  the  sixtieth 
day  after  the  rendition  of  the  judgment  instead  of  the  sixty- 
first.  This,  then,  is  the  first  important  change  I  would  sug- 
gest in  our  statutes,  to- wit :  That  parties  be  allowed  to  pray 
an  appeal  from  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  even  dur- 
ing the  term  at  which  the  judgment  is  rendered.  This  right 
is  one  which  was  very  rarely  exercised  under  the  old  code, 
and  would  be  very  rarely  exercised  now ;  but  when  necessary 
it  is  of  very  great  importance.  To  be  sure,  process  of  man- 
damus from  the  Court  of  Appeals  to  lower  courts  may  be 
asked,  but  the  filing  of  a  mandamus  petition  against  the 
judge  to  compel  him  to  grant  an  appeal  is  not  desirable. 

As  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Appyeals,  I  suppose 
it  is  out  of  the  question  to  have  the  amount  as  to  moneys 
judgments  reduced ;  but  certainly  there  ought  to  be  uniform- 
ity throughout  the  State  in  the  construction  of  statutes  and 
of  the  Constitution.  It  is  inexpedient  that  in  one  district  a 
statute  should  be  held  to  have  one  meaning  and  in  another 
district,  or  in  another  court  of  the  same  district,  it  should  be 
held  to  have  another  meaning.  Our  exemption  laws  have 
been  held  by  some  judges  to  have  one  meaning  and  by  others 
to  have  another.  The  questions  of  the  $50.00  exemption 
and  the  $40.00  3;xemption  have  been  differently  decided  by 
different  judges  even  in  the  same  circuit,  and  yet  the  matter 
could  not  get  to  the  Court  of  Appeals.     It  seems  to  me  that 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  65 

the  remedy  for  all  this  is  a  provision  that  from  a  judgment 
of  the  Circuit  Court,  irrespective  of  amount,  an  appeal  should 
be  granted  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  if  there  be  involved  the 
construction  or  the  validity  of  a  statute  or  the  construction 
of  the  Constitution,  no  reversal  to  &e  made  in  civil  cases 
where  less  than  $200.00  is  involved,  except  for  error  as  to 
such  validity  or  construction. 

The  Sunday  law,  for  example,  has  been  held  uncon- 
stitutional in  one  of  our  circuits  as  being  special  legislation. 
The  question  involved  is  one  of  very  great  importance;  it 
concerns  the  manner  of  life  of  a  whole  community.  There 
should  be  uniformity  of  decision  on  this  subject,  and  an 
appeal  ought  to  lie  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  although  the 
amount  of  the  fine  that  can  be  imposed  is  only  $50.00.  So 
I  understand  different  Circuit  Courts  have  ruled  differently 
as  to  whether  progressive  euchre  parties  come  within  the 
statute  against  gaming.  These  are  but  illustrations.  The 
general  proposition  seems  to  be  well  founded  that  there 
should  be  uniformity  of  construction  of  statutes  and  of  the 
Constitution,  and  the  same  can  be  obtained  m  but  one  way, 
to-wit,  an  appeal  to  the  Court  of  Appeals.  The  expense  of 
appeals  has  been  materially  diminished  by  the  Code  of  1877, 
which  provides  for  the  carrying  up  of  a  partial  transcript; 
but  the  benefits  of  this  provision  have  been  much  impaired  by 
the  ruling  of  our  Court  of  Appeals  that  the  judgment  of  the 
court  below  will  be  presumed  to  be  right  unless  the  record 
shows  the  contrary ;  and  therefore  that  if  the  partial  trans- 
pcript  shows  the  existence  of  a  paper  which  might  have  sus- 
tained a  judgment,  and  which  is  not  part  of  the  transcript, 
the  judgment  will  be  presumed  to  be  right.  The  effect  of 
this  ruling  is  that  appellant  takes  a  partial  transcript  at  his 
peril;  hence  many  papers  are  copied  which  are  not  neces- 
sary for  the  appeal.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  ends  of  justice 
would  be  well  subserved  by  a  provision  to  the  effect  that  if  a 


(^  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

partial  transcript  be  taken  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the 
Code,  and  if  the  record  does  not  sustain  the  judgment 
appealed  from,  there  shall  be  no  presumption  that  the  judg- 
ment would  be  sustained  by  the  record  including  the  omit- 
ted parts. 

One  great  source  of  expense  in  appeals  is  the  copying 
of  the  evidence.  Much  has  been  done  to  diminish  this  evil 
by  allowing  a  stenographer's  transcript  of  the  oral  testimony 
to  be  used  on  the  appeal.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  advisable 
that  there  be  an  amendment  to  the  Code  providing  that 
depositions  may  be  taken  up  without  being  copied.  If  pa- 
pers are  required  to  be  filed  flat,  as  is  now  the  case  in  this 
circuit,  I  can  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be. incor- 
porated in  the  transcript,  and  why  they  should  not  be  treated 
as  a  stenographer's  transcript  would  be  treated. 

One  of  the  main  sources  of  expense  at  present  consists  of 
copies  of  the  record  charged  for  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals.  It  has  been  ruled  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  under 
our  present  statutes  that  the  clerk  may  allow  counsel  to 
withdraw  the  record  for  inspection  and  may  thereupon 
charge  for  a  copy  of  the  record  as  if  one  were  actually  made. 
Counsel  has  the  right  to  examine  the  record  in  the  Clerk's 
oflSce,  but  if  counsel  take  the  record  to  the  hotel  to  examine 
at  night,  the  clerk  charges  the  record  to  counsel,  and  the 
cost  of  a  copy  is  taxed  in  the  bill  of  costs.  This  was  not 
the  case  when  I  came  to  the  bar,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  me 
reasonable  now.  The  matter,  however,  has  been  repeatedly 
before  our  Court  of  Appeals,  and  the  construction  of  the 
statute  in  this  respect  is  res  adjvdicata.  I  suggest  that  a 
change  in  this  respect  be  made  by  statute,  and  that  the  clerk 
be  not  permitted  to  charge  for  a  copy  of  the  record  where 
none  is  made. 

As  to  delay  m  appeals,  I  find  it  much  more  difficult  to 
make  suggestions.    We  all  realize  that  the  present  judges  of 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  67 

the  Court  of  Appeals  are  doing  good  work  toward  clearing 
off  the  docket,  and  that  the  length  of  time  which  a  case  on 
the  average  remains  under  submission  now  is  less  than  it  was 
a  very  few  years  ago.  For  awhile  the  court  fell  very  far 
behind  its  docket;  it  is  now  catching  up.  One  great  occa- 
sion of  this  improvement  is  the  rule  adopted  by  the  Court  of 
Appeals  that  an  oral  hearing  shall  not  be  a  matter  of  right, 
but  it  shall  be  granted  upon  grounds  shown.  It  became  cus- 
tomary for  awhile  for  counsel  to  ask  an  oral  hearing  simply 
to  gain  time  to  prepare  briefs,  and  thus  cases  were  continued 
that  ought  not  to  have  been  continued.  That  evil  has  now 
been  done  away  with. 

Is  further  improvement  possible?  I  think  the  sugges- 
tions above  made  in  reference  to  partial  transcripts  if  car- 
ried out  will  render  a  speedy  decision  of  many  appeals  practi- 
cable. In  this  connection  it  must  be  remembered  that  Ken- 
tucky (unlike  many  other  States)  allows  judgments  to 
be  reversed  in  the  event  that  the  verdict  is  not  sustained  by 
sufficient  evidence ;  and  I  presume  that  none  of  us  would  de- 
sire to  have  the  law  in  this  respect  changed.  In  consequence 
of  this  state  of  things  work  is  thrown  upon  our  Court  of 
Appeals  which  is  not  ordinarily  thrown  upon  Appellate 
Courts.  It  may  be  that  the  plan  of  making  abstracts  of  the 
record  now  in  use  in  other  States  will  be  available  to  dimin- 
ish the  labor  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  finding 
out  the  questions  really  at  issue  and  the  parts  of  the  record 
relevant  to  same.  If,  however,  abstracts  should  be  required, 
the  change  ought  to  be  made  by  statute  and  not  by  rule  ot 
court.  It  is  a  matter  that  should  not  be  decided  hastily. 
The  bar  can  do  a  great  deal  to  assist  the  judges  in  the  deci- 
sion of  cases.  I  have  no  doubt  that  by  careful  attention  on 
the  part  of  the  bar  improvements  in  the  mode  of  preparing 
briefs  and  treating  records  will  facilitate  the  labors  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  and  will  shorten  the  average  period  for  a 


63  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

case  to  remain  under  submission.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  under  the  present  Constitution  a  great  deal  of  work  is 
thrown  upon  the  courts  which  used  to  devolve  upon  the  Leg- 
islature. New  questions  constantly  come  up  for  decision 
which  could  not  have  arisen  under  previous  constitutions. 
The  people  look  to  the  courts  to  lay  down  the  rules  of  civil 
conduct  which  are  to  govern  them,  and  while  we  all  aver 
continually  that  it  is  the  business  of  courts  not  to  make  the 
law,  but  simply  to  declare  the  law,  we  all  in  practice  rely^ 
more  and  more  upon  the  decision  of  courts  as  to  what  the  law 
is.  This  tendency  is  growing  continually,  and  by  reason  of 
this  tendency  it  is  the  more  important  that  there  should  be 
ready,  cheap  and  speedy  access  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  to 
the  end  that  there  may  be  uniformity  of  rules  in  all  import- 
ant matters  throughout  the  Commonwealth. 

The  President:  The  next  paper  will  be  read  by  Mr. 
Trabue  and  as  the  subject  is  germane  to  the  subject  of  the 
paper  read  by  Mr.  Seymour,  the  two  can  be  discussed  after 
Mr.  Trabue  has  finished  reading  his  paper. 

Mr.  Trabue,  after  suggesting  a  query  as  to  the  future  of 
the  lawyer  in  these  days  of  consolidation  of  great  business 
enterprises  and  corporations,  said  that  it  was  certain  that 
business  men  would  see  even  greater  necessity  for  the  law- 
yer's services  as  the  value  of  their  enterprises  grew,  and  that 
in  civil  practice  the  tendency  would  be  toward  requiring 
accurate  work  in  preparation  of  legal  papers,  and  certainly 
and  promptness  in  trials  in  courts.  That  no  such  certainty 
would  be  attainable  without  an  efficient  judiciary,  for  how- 
ever able,  learned  and  industrious  might  be  the  attorney,  his 
labors  would  be  in  vain  without  a  judiciary  able  to  compre- 
hend, and  with  time  for  proper  consideration.  That  with 
the  deterioration  of  the  judiciary  the  demand  for  best  legal 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  69 

talent  decreased  and  for  the  shyster  increased,  and  accord- 
ingly the  shyster's  methods  grew  in  favor.  That  practice 
became  a  speculation  rather  than  a  science,  and  inevitably 
the  entire  administration  of  justice  grew  into  disrepute,  and 
to  be  avoided  by  anyone  who  could  compromise  his  case  and 
escape  the  court.  That,  in  short,  the  administration  of  the 
law  failed  of  its  purpose.  Wherefore,  he  concluded  that  no 
people  could  afford  to  trammel  their  judiciary  with  unneces- 
sary labor,  or  otherwise  impair  its  efficiency. 

That  to  be  efficient  the  judiciary  must  be  composed  of 
proper  material  and  have  time  and  facilities  for  proper  per- 
formance of  their  duties.  That  the  bar  must  supply  the 
material  for  the  bench,  which  suggested  a  higher  standard 
of  admission  to  the  bar.  That  the  present  standard  was 
due  not  to  inferiority  of  our  population,  but  to  the  laxity  of 
our  methods  of  selection.  That  while  almost  anyone  might 
obtain  admission  to  the  Kentucky  Bar,  in  at  least  one  State 
out  of  311  applicants  only  186  were  licensed  in  1899.  That 
among  the  rejected  were  men  holding  degrees  from  such 
schools  as  Harvard.  That  our  bar  could  not  hope  to  cope 
with  a  bar  so  selected ;  nor  our  bench  with  the  bench  selected 
from  such  a  bar.  That  we  have  some  excellent  judges,  and 
would  have  under  any  system,  but  that  we  could  not  defy 
the  laws  of  affairs,  but  must  recognize  their  truths  or  bO 
left  in  the  race.  That  our  courts  now  controlling  admission 
to  the  bar  were  anxious  to  surrender  it,  having  no  time  for 
the  performance  of  the  duty  of  examination. 

That  the  bar's  importance  to  the  bench  consisted  as  well 
in  assisting  the  bench  in  practice  as  in  affording  material  for 
the  judges.  That  the  bench  required  an  able,  industrious 
and  above  all,  high-toned  bar.  That  no  effective  way  to 
improve  the  bar's  morals  existed.  That  discipline  was  a 
poor  remedy.  That  high  legal  education  was  the  only  rem- 
edy.   That  a  lawyer  incompetent  must  compete  with  compe- 


70  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

tent  lawyers  by  indirection.  That  he  is  driven  to  a  shyster's 
tricks  in  self-defense,  and  substitutes  chicanery  for  profi- 
ciency. That  increase  in  the  number  of  shysters  increases 
their  influence  on  the  practice  and  with  the  courts. 

That  proper  practice  is  only  less  important  to  the  bench 
than  proper  legal  material.  That  if  we  had  more  judges  at 
Frankfort,  and  if  each  were  abler  than  any  found  in  any 
other  court,  they  would  be  inadequate  to  proper  performance 
of  their  duties  under  present  practice.  That  the  desire  to 
clear  its  docket  naturally  tempts  the  court  to  slight  interests 
nearest  the  hearts  of  litigants.  That  the  labor  required  is 
impossible  of  performance.     That  relief  is  indispensable. 

That  the  remedy  must  be  curtailment  of  work  or  addi- 
tional facilities  for  performing  it.  That  either  the  jurisdic- 
tional amount  must  be  raised  or  the  labors  in  each  case  light- 
ened. That  the  latter  is  possible  only  by  affording  addi- 
tional facilities  for  labor. 

That  to  raise  the  limit  of  appeal  simply  suggests  a  habit 
of  raising  the  limit  and  is  cowardly  expedient.  That  the 
real  remedy  is  that  adopted  in  a  large  majority  of  States  and 
territories,  viz. :  To  require  the  lawyer  to  do  the  work  now 
thrown  on  our  overworked  judges.  That  this  would  surely 
meet  the  court's  approval,  and  ought  to  meet  the  lawyer's 
unless  he  be  lazy  or  inefficient.  That  the  lawyer  able  and 
willing  to  do  his  duty  is  apt  to  have  business  of  such  import- 
ance as  to  make  him  appreciate  the  necessity  for  an  efficient 
judiciary.  That  the  lawyer  too  lazy  to  perform  necessary 
labor,  although  appreciating  its  necessity,  is  hopeless,  and 
that  the  lawer  inefficient  has  no  business  at  the  bar.  That 
the  safety  of  men's  estates  requires  efficient  lawyers  as  much 
as  that  of  their  bodies  requires  efficient  physicians.  That 
the  condition  of  the  court  alone  must  be  considered  in  this 
question,  and  we'must  either  meet  the  court's  needs  or  be 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  71 

reconciled  to  our  court  falling  below  the  scale  of  excellence  in 
other  States. 

That  the  remedy  is  that  adopted  by  the  concurrent  wis- 
dom of  so  many  States,  to-wit,  printed  abstract  of  record  and 
printed  briefs.  That  in  1897,  out  of  forty-four  States,  in 
only  eleven  was  the  record  or  brief  not  required  printed, 
and  even  in  some  of  those  the  court  might  require  both  print- 
ed. That  in  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Court  of  Appeals  for 
District  of  Columbia,  Court  of  Claims,  U.  S.  Circuit  Court 
of  Appeals,  and  twenty-three  State  courts  the  records  and 
arguments  were  required  printed,  the  records  on  some  States 
consisting  in  an  abstract.  That  even  in  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona and  North  and  South  Dakota  printing  is  required. 

That  in  no  other  State  found  is  the  lower  court's  record 
copied  in  extenso  and  dumped  upon  the  Appellate  Court 
without  any  explanation  except  an  index.  That  such  expla- 
nation is  sometimes  not  even  contained  in  the  brief.  That 
a  cart-load  of  account  books  is  often  freighted  to  Frankfort 
for  the  delectation  of  the  judges. 

That  the  true  plan  would  require  appellant's  attorney  to 
carefully  make  an  abstract  of  the  record,  exhibiting  suffi- 
cient thereof  to  enable  the  court  to  correctly  decide  the  case, 
and  appellee's  attorney  to  add  anything  necessary  to  show 
his  side  of  the  case,  so  that  everything  deemed  by  either 
side  necessary  to  a  determination  of  the  appeal  would  be 
contained  in  the  abstract. 

That  the  judges  might  then  devote  to  the  real  questions 
involved  the  time  now  required  to  examine  superfluous  and 
cumbersome  matter,  and  could  read  printed  abstracts  and 
briefs  with  far  greater  facility  and  in  much  less  time  than 
written  matter.  That  without  some  such  relief  our  court 
must  labor  in  vain  to  get  rid  of  accumulated  cases,  and  must 
stumble  on  under  its  burden  without  hope  of  resurrection. 
That  thus  handicapped  it  can  not  keep  pace  with  other 


72  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

courts,  no  matter  what  the  material  that  might  compose  its 
bench. 

That  as  to  the  objections;  the  expense  of  printing  is  only 
illusory.  That  printing  could  be  obtained  cheaper  by  letting 
the  appellate  clerk  contract  for  it.  That  dispensing  with  the 
transcript  would  probably  offset  the  expense  of  printing. 
That  the  transcript  could  be  printed  from  original  papers,  as 
is  done  in  Ohio. 

That  each  judge  and  each  attorney  would  have  printed 
copies  of  record  and  briefs,  and  that  this  is  really  indispen- 
sable for  proper  preparation  and  understanding  of  any  case. 
That  without  it  only  one  Appellate  Judge  can  handle  a  case, 
so  that  on  the  vital  point  of  examinatfon  there  is  one  Appel- 
late Judge  against  a  Circuit  Judge.  That  at  present  the 
original  transcript  is  sent  to  any  lawyer  in  Kentucky  re- 
questing it,  and  a  copy  charged  against  the  unsuccessful 
litigant.  That  his  opponent  visiting  Frankfort  to  save  the 
cost  of  a  transcript  to  his  client  ascertains  that  the  transcript 
is  in  his  neighbor's  office  at  home,  and  that  sometimes  it 
remains  there  until  returned  under  a  rule  or  attachment. 
That  the  shame  upon  us  is  that  we  should  have  so  long 
endured  the  ill-treatment  of  our  court  while  States  so  young 
as  Iowa  had  relief  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

Mr.  Trabue  congratulated  the  bar  upon  formation  of  a 
Bar  Association,  saying  that  without  co-operation  individual 
lawyers  could  accomplish  nothing,  and  that  all  other  profes- 
sions and  callings  were  combining  to  obtain  the  advantages 
of  co-operation. 

Concerning  the  working  of  the  proposed  plan  in  other 
States,  he  read  from  judges  and  lawyers  as  follows: 

From  an  eminent  judge  that  the  present  rules  in  Wiscon- 
sin are  in  Volume  87,  and  that  the  printed  abstract  is  satis- 
factory to  the*  bar,  not  unduly  burdensome  to  litigants,  and 
the  court  saved  endless  labor  in  reaching  the  vital  points  in 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  73 

controversy.  That  "without  the  abridgement  in  the  printed 
case,  at  least,  it  would  seem  impossible  for  the  court  to  dis- 
pose of  its  calendars." 

Another  judge  says:  "Our  rules  work  so  well  that  we 
finish  and  dispose  of  every  case  on  the  docket  of  each  term 
of  court." 

Another  says :  "I  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  the  rule 
adopted  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Missouri,  requiring  ab- 
stracts of  the  record  and  briefs  of  counsel  to  be  printed, 
greatly  facilitates  disposition  of  cases  in  that  tribunal,  and 
tends  to  secure  correct  decisions,"  etc. 

Mr.  Trabue  said  that  such  responses  were  obtained  to 
inquiries  made  by  a  committee  of  lawyers  several  years  ago, 
desiring  to  formulate  a  plan  for  relief  of  our  appellate  court. 

In  conclusion  Mr.  Trabue  urged  the  formulation,  in  an 
Act  of  the  Legislature,  of  rules  which  were  proposed  several 
years  ago  to  the  appellate  court  for  adoption,  but  which  the 
court  hesitated  to  adopt  without  legislative  sanction.  The 
rules  are  as  follows : 

RULES. 

XVI.  A  party  who,  either  by  directing  a  clerk  to  copy 
the  entire  record,  or  by  filing  a  schedule,  requires  a  clerk  in 
making  a  transcript  for  appeal  to  copy  immaterial  parts  of 
the  record,  shall  pay  the  costs  resulting  therefrom,  to  be 
adjudged  by  this  court  upon  or  without  motion;  and  in  this 
connection  the  attention  of  the  bar  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  not  material  to  copy  orders  setting  a  case  for  a  day  for 
trial,  or  postponing  or  remanding  the  same,  unless  some 
point  is  to  be  made  in  this  court  upon  which  such  orders 
have  a  bearing. 

XVII.  The  caption  of  the  cause  having  been  given  at 
the  beginning  of  the  transcript,  it  shall  not  be  necessary. 


74  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

where  no  point  is  made  upon  the  same,  to  copy  the  captions 
of  pleadings,  motions,  orders,  or  other  proceedings,  or  verifi- 
cations of  pleadings,  or  official  certificates  to  depositions, 
deeds  or  other  papers. 

But,  in  case  of  pleadings  or  other  proceedings  in  court, 
the  copy  of  the  same  shall  be  preceded  by  a  caption  stating 
as  briefly  as  possible  its  character,  such  as  "Answer,"  or 
'^Amended  Answer,"  or  in  case  there  be  several  parties,  and 
the  pleading  is  only  as  to  part  of  them,  then  such  caption  as 
"Answer  of  John  Smith,  etc."  or  "Exceptions  to  Deposi- 
tions," "Exceptions  to  Commissioner's  Report,"  Judgment, 
etc." 

No  caption  need  be  given  to  mere  orders  or  motions, 
except  a  judgment  or  a  motion  for  a  new  trial,  in  which 
event  the  caption  shall  simply  be  "Judgment,"  or  "Motion 
for  New  Trial." 

If  it  be  material  to  show  the  date  of  an  official  certificate, 
but  no  point  is  made  as  to  the  certificate  otherwise,  it  shall 
be  comi>etent  and  sufficient  to  state  such  date  in  the  briefest 
possible  form.  Thus,  in  case  of  a  deed,  the  copy  of  the  deed 
may  be  followed  by  the  words,  on  a  separate  line,  "Acknowl- 
edged January  1,  1800,"  or  "Acknowledged  and  Recorded 
January  1,  1800,"  or,  if  acknowledged  by  different  parties  at 
different  dates,  then  such  words  as  "Acknowledged  by  John 
Smith,  January  1,  1800,  and  by  Thomas  Jones,  January  5, 
1800 ;"  or  in  case  of  affidavits  or  depositions,  such  words  as 
"Certificate  dated  January  1,  1890,"  etc. 

The  attention  of  the  bar  is  also  called  to  the  fact  that,  by 
filing  an  agreed  statement  for  the  purpose  of  an  appeal,  the 
effect  of  long  documents,  such  as  depositions,  exhibits,  plead- 
ings subsequent  to  the  petition,  etc.,  may  often  be  very  briefly 
stated,  and  thereby  great  costs  in  copying,  and  labor  in  read- 
ing, a  record  may  be  saved. 

In  making  transcripts  of  records  the  clerks  of  the  several 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  75 

courts  will  be  governed  by  the  foregoing  rule,  and  will  copy 
no  captions  or  certificates  such  as  are  indicated  above,  unless 
directed  to  do  so  by  a  schedule  filed,  but  will  insert  brief 
descriptive  captions  as  above  described. 

PRINTED  ABSTRACTS. 

XVIII.  In  all  civil  cases  the  party  bringing  a  cause  into 
this  court  shall  furnish  a  complete  abstract  or  abridgement 
of  the  record  in  the  form  hereinafter  prescribed,  and  shall 
cause  such  abstract  to  be  printed  in  small  pica  type,  24  pica 
ems  to  a  line,  35  lines  to  a  page,  leaded  with  4-to-pica  leads, 
with  an  index,  and  a  suitable  cover  containing  the  title  of  the 
court  and  style  of  the  case,  and  the  court  from  which  the 
case  is  brought  into  this  court;  the  size  of  pages  to  be  9l^; 
by  61/4  inches ;  which  printed  abstract  shall  be  bound  in  book 
or  pamphlet  form. 

Within  fifteen  days  after  the  beginning  of  the  first  term 
subsequent  to  the  filing  of  the  record  in  the  clerk's  office 
of  this  court,  there  shall  be  filed  with  the  clerk  of  this  court 
twelve  copies  of  such  printed  abstract,  of  which  copies  one 
shall  be  delivered  by  the  clerk  to  the  offical  reporter,  and, 
one  to  each  judge  sitting  in  the  case. 

And  within  the  time  above  mentioned  at  least  two  copies 
of  such  printed  abstract  shall  be  furnished  to  the  opposing 
counsel. 

XIX.  Abstracts  of  records  shall  be  made  substantially 
in  the  following  form : 


76  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

Court  of  Appeals  of  Kentucky. 

JANUARY  TERM,  1890. 


John  Doe,..    .  AppeUant,'\ 

vs. 
Richard  Roe,  .  Appellee. 


-AppellanPs  Absfract  of  Record 


APPEAL  FROM  THE  JUDGMENT  OF  THE 
HARDIN  CIRCUIT  COURT. 

"A.  B.  for  the  Appellant. 
C.  D.  for  the  Appellee. 

On  the day  of 18 ,  the  plaintiff 

filed  in  the  Hardin  Circuit  Court  a 

PETITION 

stating  his  cause  of  action  as  follows : 

[Set  out  all  of  the  petition  necessary  to  an  understand- 
ing of  the  questions  to  be  presented  to  this  court,  and  no 
more.  In  setting  out  exhibits,  omit  all  merely  formal 
irrelevant  parts.  Thus,  for  example,  if  the  exhibit  be  a  deed 
or  a  mortgage  and  no  question  is  raised  as  to  the  acknowl- 
edgment, omit  the  acknowledgment.] 

When  the  defendant  has  appeared,  it  is  useless  to  encum- 
ber the  record  with  the  summons. 

On  the  ......  day  of 18 .... ,  the  defendant 

filed  a 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  77 

GENERAL  DEMURRER 

to  said  petition. 

On  18. ... ,  the  same  was  overruled  (or 

sustained  as  the  case  may  be  )  and  exception  reserved ;  the 
court  filing  the  following 

OPINION. 

[Of  course  if  no  written  opinion  be  filed,  the  abstract  will 
simply  show  the  order  upon  the  demurrer.] 

On 18 ... .  defendant  filed  his 

ANSWER 

setting  up  the  following  defenses : 

[Here  set  out  the  defenses,  omitting  all  formal  parts. 
If  motions  or  demurrers  are  interi>osed  to  this  pleading, 
proceed  as  directed  with  reference  to  the  petition.] 

Frame  the  record  so  that  it  will  properly  present  all  ques- 
tions to  be  reviewed  and  raised  before  issue  is  joined. 

When  the  abstract  shows  issue  joined,  proceed  in 

COMMON  LAW  CASES 
as  follows : 

On 18. . . .,  said  cause  was  tried  by  jury 

(or  the  court  as  the  case  may  be) ,  and  on  the  trial  the  fol- 
lowing proceedings  were  had: 


78  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

[Here  set  out  so  much  of  the  bill  of  exceptions,  includ- 
ing so  much  of  the  transcript  of  evidence,  as  is  necessary 
to  show  the  rulings  of  the  court  to  which  exceptions  were 
taken  during  the  progress  of  the  trial.  And  if  it  be  con- 
tended that  the  verdict,  or  judgment  is  not  sustained  by 
sufficient  evidence,  then  set  out  the  whole  evidence,  not 
by  copying  the  same  literally,  but  by  condensing  it  so  as  to 
present  the  material  parts  thereof  clearly  and  concisely.] 

PLAINTIFF'S  INSTRUCTIONS  REFUSED. 

After  the  evidence  was  concluded  plaintiff  asked  the 
court  for  the  following  instructions,  each  of  which  the  court 
refused : 

[Here  set  out  in  full  the  instructions  asked  by  plaintiff 
and  refused;  and  the  objections  and  exceptions  of  the 
parties  thereto.] 

DEFENDANT'S  INSTRUCTIONS  REFUSED. 

Defendant  asked  for  the  following  instructions,  each  of 
which  was  refused : 

[Here  set  out  in  full  the  instructions  asked  by  defendant 
and  refused,  and  the  objections  and  exceptions  thereto.] 

INSTRUCTIONS  BY  THE  COURT. 

The  court  gave  to  the  jury  the  following  instructions: 

[Here  set  out  in  full  the  instructions  given  by  the  court, 
whether  of  its  own  motion,  or  on  the  motion  of  the  plaintiff 
or  defendant,  or  both,  and  also  show  by  whom  asked,  if  by 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  79 

any  one,  and  any  objections  or  exceptions  that  may  have 
been  to  any  instructions,  or  the  court's  rulings.] 

VERDICT. 

On 18. . . .,  the  jury  returned  the  following 

verdict : 

[Here  set  out  the  verdict.] 

Whereupon  one 18 .... ,  the  court  entered 

the  following 

JUDGMENT. 

[Here  set  out  the  judgment.] 

On 18 ,  plaintiff  entered  a 

MOTION  FOR  A  NEW  TRIAL. 

and  filed  written  grounds  therefor,  which  are  as  follows : 

[Here  set  out  the  grounds  for  the  motion  for  a  new 
trial.] 

On 18 .... ,  the  court  overruled  said 

motion  (or  sustained  the  same,  as  the  case  may  be) ,  to  which 
plaintiff  (or  defendant)  at  the  time  excepted,  and  prayed  an 
appeal  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  which  was  granted.  And 
time  was  given  until to  prepare  and  file  a 

BILL  OF  EXCEPTIONS, 

which  was  filed  on 18 ;  and  the  substance 

of  which  has  been  heretofore  given  herein. 


aO  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

IN  EQUITABLE  ACTIONS, 

After  the  abstract  shows  issue  joined  in  equity  cases,  then 
state  the  evidence  bearing  upon  the  issues  joined  in  as  brief 
and  coifdensed  a  form  as  is  consistent  with  clearness  and 
fairness ;  stating  the  substance  of  the  testimony  of  each  wit- 
ness, and  the  substance  of  documentary  evidence,  in  the 
order  in  which  the  same  are  found  in  the  transcript,  and 
without  attempting  to  group  the  evidence  of  different  wit- 
nesses on  the  various  points  at  issue.  The  name  of  each 
new  witness  mentioned  should  be  printed  in  the  middle  of  a 
line  to  itself  in  the  form  of  a  caption.  And  in  giving  the 
sustance  of  documents,  effort  should  be  made  by  use  of  brief, 
appropriate  captions  to  keep  them  separate  from  each  other, 
that  is,  to  avoid  confusion  as  to  where  one  ends  and  another 
begins. 

Having  stated  the  evidence,  then  proceed  as  follows : 

On 18 ... .  the  court  delivered  a  written 

OPINION. 

[Here  give  the  full  text  of  the  opinion.] 

And  thereupon  on 18 entered  the 

following 

JUDGMENT. 

[Here  set  out  the  judgment  in  full.] 

GENERAL  DESIGN. 

The  foregoing  outline  is  presented  for  the  purpose  of 
indicating  the  character  of  the  abstract  contemplated  by  the 
rule,  which,  like  all  rules,  is  to  be  substantially  complied 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  81 

with.  Of  course,  no  formula  can  be  laid  down  applicable  to 
all  cases.  The  rule  to  be  observed  in  abstracting  a  case  is : 
Preserve  everything  material  to  the  questions  to  be  decided, 
and  omit  everything  else. 

XX.  If  the  appellee's  counsel  shall  deem  the  appellant's 
abstract  imperfect  or  unfair,  he  may,  within  fifteen  days 
after  the  receipt  of  the  same,  deliver  to  the  appellant's  coun- 
sel two  printed  copies,  and  to  the  clerk  of  the  court  twelve 
printed  copies,  of  such  further  or  additional  abstract  as  he 
shall  deem  necessary  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  questions 
presented  to  this  court  for  decision,  which  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  clerk  to  distribute  as  provided  in  Rule  XVIII. 

XXI.  Time  for  filing  abstracts  may  be  extended  by  the 
court. 

XXII.  The  cost  of  printing  the  foregoing  abstracts  shall 
be  taxed  as  part  of  the  costs  of  the  respective  parties  printing 
the  same. 

The  President:  The  subject-matter  of  those  two  pa- 
pers is  now  open  for  discussion. 

Mr.  James  P.  Helm:  The  subject  of  the  papers  is  one 
in  which  I  have  felt  a  very  considerable  interest  for  a  long 
time.  When  I  go  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
or  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeal — in  other  words,  when  I 
mingle  with  lawyers  or  judges  who  are  in  the  habit  of  deal- 
ing with  printed  records,  it  is  a  matter  of  constant  surprise 
to  them  that  we  are  still  plodding  along  in  the  old  way  of 
manuscript  or  typewritten  records,  and  I  think  we  may  as 
well  make  up  our  minds  that  until  there  is  some  reform  in 
this  respect  we  are  asking  too  much  of  our  Court  of  Appeals 
when  we  expect  their  opinions  to  attain  the  same  high  stand- 
ard as  do  the  opinions  of  the  courts  which  have  the  benefit 
of  printed  records.     They  are  very  much  more  handicapped 


82  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

than  the  courts  of  other  States.  We  know  that  they  have  to 
take  records  containing  thousands  of  pages  and  read  through 
them  to  find  out  what  is  in  them,  and  when  they  do  that 
they  are  so  weary  of  that  case  and  so  worn  with  their  physi- 
cal work,  and  it  is  such  an  effort  to  remember  what  is  in  the 
record,  that  you  can  not  expect  from  them  a  very  clear-cut 
opinion.  I  have  in  my  mind  a  record  in  the  Court  of  Appeals 
containing  twelve  volumes,  averaging  250  to  300  pages  to  the 
volume,  and  in  my  opinion  counsel  in  that  case  could  have 
agreed  upon  an  abstract  which  would  not  have  contained 
over  100  printed  pages.  In  that  case  there  are  200  pages 
of  pleadings,  and  I  think  a  statement  of  what  is  shown  in  the 
pleadings  could  be  made  in  ten  pages.  If  we  could  induce 
the  courts  to  adopt  the  abstract  idea,  which  so  many  States 
have  adopted,  of  stating  briefly  the  issues,  and  then  only  such 
evidence  as  bars  upon  those  issues,  having  the  counsel  for 
appellant  do  that,  and  then  allowing  the  counsel  for  appellee 
the  right  to  supplement  the  statement  and  then  have  it 
printed,  it  would  result  in  diminishing  our  records  fully  75 
per  cent.  I  believe  it  is  entirely  feasible.  It  does  devolve  a 
good  deal  of  labor  upon  counsel,  but  counsel  has  that  labor 
sooner  or  later  in  some  way  or  other  if  he  prepares  his  case 
properly. 

What  Mr.  Seymour  said  on  the  subject  of  decisions  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals  on  partial  records  strikes  at  the  root  of 
the  matter.  Nobody  thought  when  schedules  were  allowed 
that  the  court  would  ever  fail  to  conclude  that  the  record 
thus  made  up  was,  for  the  purpose  of  that  appeal,  the  whole 
record.  When  counsel  for  appellant  selects  his  parts  of  the 
record  and  counsel  for  appellee  supplements  it,  the  Court  of 
Appeals  ought  to  hold  that  that  is  the  complete  record.  It  is 
asking  too  much  of  a  lawyer  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
selecting  the  parts  of  the  record  he  wants,  if  the  court  has 
the  power  to  say  "there  is  another  part  that  has  been  omit- 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  «3 

ted,  and  for  aught  we  may  know  that  might  have  justified  the 
decision  of  the  court  below,  and  therefore  we  affirm  the 
case."  So  in  any  plan  that  we  agree  upon  in  making  ab- 
stracts, it  ought  to  be  an  essential  part  of  the  plan  that  when 
the  record  is  thus  made  up  it  is  conclusively  presumed  to  be 
the  complete  record  for  the  purposes  of  that  appeal.  You 
afl  remember  the  rule  in  the  Supreme  Court  for  diminishing 
records — I  think  it  is  the  Ninth  Rule.  There  counsel  for  the 
plaintiff  in  error  may  file  with  the  Clerk  a  statement  in  writ- 
ing indicating  the  parts  of  the  record  which  he  thinks  are 
essential  to  the  determination  of  the  case,  which  the  Clerk 
sends  to  the  defendant  in  error,  and  if  that  party  does  nol; 
within  the  time  named  in  the  rule  indicate  other  parts  of  the 
record,  the  court  will  take  the  case  upon  that  record;  and 
although  under  that  rule  if  the  court  upon  an  examination  of 
the  record  reaches  the  conclusion  that  necessary  parts  of 
the  record  have  been  omitted,  it  has  the  power  to  order  the 
incorporation  of  those  parts  or  dismiss  the  appeal.  I  don't 
think  they  have  ever  exercised  that  power.  So  it  seems  to 
me  if  we  can  not  get  our  Court  of  Appeals  to  adopt  the  a.b- 
stract  idea,  it  might  be  well  to  get  them  to  adopt  a  rule  some- 
thing like  the  Ninth  Supreme  Court  Rule  for  the  diminution 
of  records. 

There  is  no  gainsaying  the  fact  that  if  records  are  printed 
and  each  judge  examines  the  record,  it  will  inevitably  lead 
to  more  satisfactory  decisions.  None  of  us  who  have  been 
in  the  Supreme  Court  and  argued  cases  there  but  remember 
that  members  of  that  court  constantly,  when  you  are  refer- 
rmg  to  certain  facts,  interrupt  and  say :  "From  what  page 
are  you  reading?"  And  they  turn  and  read  that  particular 
part  of  the  record  in  the  connection  in  which  you  are  argu- 
ing. Now,  how  different  in  our  Court  of  Appeals.  Here  is 
a  single  great,  big  record,  and  when  you  read  this  or  that 
from  it  the  court  can't  follow  you,  and,  as  it  is  generally 


84  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

eight  or  nine  or  ten  months  before  that  case  is  sent  out,  the 
discussion  on  the  facts  is  of  no  value.  The  court  has  no  in- 
ducement to  listen  to  your  discussion  or  follow  very  closely 
your  argument,  especially  when  you  are  arguing  the  evidence 
in  the  case,  for  the  court  knows  it  can't  recollect  nine  months 
from  that  time  anything  that  is  said  on  the  facts.  If  we  had 
the  abstract  system,  with  a  printed  record,  the  court  would 
follow  you,  each  member  with  a  copy.  I  venture  to  suggest 
that  if  we  can  get  our  Court  of  Appeals  to  adopt  the  plan 
outlined  by  the  Louisville  Bar  Association  and  let  us  prepare 
these  abstracts,  it  will  soon  be  found  that  the  labors  of  the 
court  will  be  enormously  lightened,  and  this  will  result  in 
better  considered  judgments.  If  we  can  not  succeed  in 
getting  that  system,  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  adopt 
some  means  by  which  we  can  pay  the  Clerk  for  superintend- 
ing the  printing,  as  the  Supreme  Court  Clerk  does. 

Mr.  McDermott  :  Just  a  word  in  addition  to  what  Mr. 
Helm  has  said.  I  have  always  thought  we  should  abolish 
the  whole  fee  system.  I  think  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals  and  all  the  Circuit  Clerks  should  be  paid  salaries. 
I  think  a  clerk  who  has  been  elected  should  be  paid  a  goodi 
salary.  I  don't  want  to  be  unjust  to  the  clerk,  but  I  don't 
think  the  clerk  should  be  compelled  to  collect  money  from 
the  litigants.  With  the  clerk  on  a  good  salary  not  depending 
on  fees,  this  abstract  could  be  made,  and,  if  necessary,  the 
original  papers  sent  up,  and  a  great  saving  of  expense  and 
labor  to  litigants,  lawyers  and  judges  secured. 

Mr.  Woodson  :  When  we  come  to  consider  the  matter, 
it  is  a  little  surprising  how  slowly  we  get  at  the  business  of 
law  reform  such  as  has  been  suggested  this  evening.  A  long 
time  ago  Dean  Swift  with  his  admirable  irony  suggested  two 
objections  to  the  law.  One  was  the  law  precedent,  which 
simply  meant  that  whatever  has  been  done  may  be  done 
again ;  the  other  was  the  circumlocution  by  which  we  under- 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  85 

take  to  arrive  at  questions  in  court.  He  said  if  a  man 
undertakes  to  sue  me  for  a  coat  he  doesn't  come  out  and 
sue  me  for  the  coat,  but  begins  to  prove  all  sorts  of  details 
that  have  no  earthly  bearing;  and  that  has  been  the  course 
more  or  less  ever  since.  And  the  proposition  now  is  simply 
an  objection  to  circumlocution.  The  two  very  admirable 
papers  that  have  been  read  here  this  evening  embody  the 
common  sense  of  the  situation.  To  illustrate:  Here  is  an 
estate,  and  they  fall  out  about  the  division  of  the  property, 
and  instead  of  saying  in  so  many  words  that  the  ancestors 
devised  that  estate  by  will,  there  is  copied  into  the  record  the 
whole  will,  thirty  or  forty  pages.  If  the  stockholders  of  a 
corporation  fall  out,  the  case  comes  to  the  Court  of  Appeals ; 
instead  of  the  simple  statement  that  the  company  was  incor- 
porated for  certain  purposes,  the  entire  articles  of  incorpora- 
tion are  copied  at  full  length,  when  there  is  no  issue  presented 
growing  out  of  them.  And  so  it  is  with  other  things.  None 
of  those  things  ought  to  be  copied  unless  there  is  some  ques- 
tion raised  on  them.  It  seems  to  me  absolutely  superfluous, 
and  the  wonder  is  that  the  thing  has  been  permitted  so  long. 
I  think  if  this  Bar  Association  takes  the  matter  up  that  we 
certainly  can  remedy  the  matter. 

I  know  there  is  some  trouble  in  endeavoring  to  secure  too 
great  brevity.  I  remember  an  instance  of  it.  There  was  a 
lawyer  arguing  before  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  he  was 
exceedingly  prolix,  and  one  of  the  judges  said  to  him,  "You 
certainly  ought  to  presume  that  the  court  knows  some  law," 
and  he  said:  "That  is  the  very  point  I  got  beat  on  in  the 
court  below,  and  I  don't  want  to  get  beat  twice  on  the  same 
proposition." 

I  think  the  suggestion  that  the  Clerks  both  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  and  of  the  Circuit  Courts  should  be  made  salaried 
oflEicers  and  not  depend  on  fees,  is  another  proper  suggestion 
which,  if  adopted,  will  secure  relief. 


86  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

Mr.  Strother.  We  have  had  two  very  interesting  papers 
and  some  valuable  discussions  of  those  papers,  but  all  of  that 
will  amount  to  nothing  unless  something  can  be  accomplished 
as  a  result  of  the  discussion.  I  therefore  move  that  these 
two  papers  by  Mr.  Seymour  and  Mr.  Trabue  be  referred  to 
the  proper  committee  with  directions  to  prepare  a  bill,  using 
such  of  the  suggestions  as  are  approved. 

Mr.  Helm  :  Do  you  think  it  wise  to  endeavor  to  secure 
a  bill  ?    I  think  it  can  be  provided  better  by  a  rule  of  court. 

Mr.  McDermott:  Why  not  say  by  a  bill  or  a  rule  of 
court? 

Mr.  Strother:    I  will  accept  that. 

The  motion  was  seconded. 

Mr.  Wilson:  I  desire  in  seconding  the  motion  to  ven- 
ture a  few  remarks.  I  hope  I  may  be  pardoned  for  stating 
the  few  suggestions  that  occur  to  me.  I  believe  there  is  no 
evil  in  our  present  system  of  jurisprudence  that  is  more 
glaring  than  the  difficulty  attendant  upon  the  prosecution  of 
appeals.  Now,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  part  a  little  from  the 
line  of  suggestion  which  has  been  brought  out  by  Mr.  Sey- 
mour, Mr.  Trabue,  Mr.  Helm  and  others,  I  would  say  it  seems 
to  me  the  oral  argument  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  has  dwin- 
dled rather  into  insignificance,  and  rather  unjustly  so.  But 
lawyers  know  that  the  oral  argument  and  the  decision  are  so 
far  apart  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  benefit  can  be  had 
from  an  oral  argument.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  no  way, 
either  by  condensation  of  the  record  or  shortening  the  proof, 
in  which  a  lawyer  can  better  present  his  case  than  by  an  oral 
argument  of  the  case.  Every  lawyer  knows  that  when  he  is 
arguing  a  case  orally  before  a  judge  who  is  giving  him  due 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  87 

attention,  that  that  judge  will  frequently  put  questions  to  the 
lawyer  that  touch  the  case  vitally  and  which  can  be  disposed 
of  right  then  and  there  without  the  judge  wading  through 
endless  records  and  endless  proof.  I  believe  reform  should 
be  secured  in  that  line.  If  I  understand  it,  the  tendency  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals  now  is  to  cast  the  oral  argument  aside. 
I  think  we  should  endeavor  to  change  this. 

Mr.  Galloway  :  Not  intending  to  present  any  objection 
to  the  proposed  system  of  printing  records  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  1  would  suggest  this  idea :  That  there  is  a  difficulty 
in  Kentucky  in  the  way  of  a  system  that  does  not  exist  in 
the  States  above  us,  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  Indiana,  etc.  In  all 
those  States  there  is  considerable  equality  m  the  territory 
that  composes  the  counties,  and  the  counties  are  practically 
equally  accessible  by  rail,  have  equal  facilities  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  cases.  We  know  that  nothing  like  this  obtains  in 
Kentucky,  and  the  difficulty  is  to  make  a  system  that  will 
work  as  well  for  all  parts  of  our  State.  It  seems  to  me  we 
have  an  anomalous  condition  in  Kentucky,  and  that  is  to 
a  larger  extent  the  reason  why  Kentucky  is  not  alongside  of 
Ohio  and  Illinois  and  these  other  States  in  the  laying  off  and 
upbuilding  of  our  State.  Our  conditions  are  so  different. 
Why  in  my  judicial  district  we  have  counties  that  have  no 
railroad  and  no  printing-offices.  It  may  be  important  that 
this  system  be  adopted,  but  I  can  not  see  how  it  can  be. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  we  have  the  record  abstracted. 
Now,  you  go  out  into  some  of  my  counties  and  undertake  to 
agree  with  a  lawyer  in  getting  up  an  abstract  and  you  will 
have  a  sight  harder  task  than  the  Court  of  Appeals  will  have 
in  reading  the  full  record. 

Mr.  Baskin  :  I  think  I  can  shed  some  light  on  this  mat- 
ter.   I  was  on  a  committee  which  was  appointed  to  get  up 


88  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

the  memorial  that  was  drawn  and  sent  to  the  Court  of 
Appeals  some  months  since,  and  in  that  memorial  we  under- 
took to  set  forth  all  the  States  and  Territories  wherein  the 
records  are  printed,  and  also  those  wherein  the  records  are 
abstracted. 

Now,  as  to  counties  having  no  printing  offices;  we  all 
know  that  in  places  where  printing  does  obtain  the  records 
are  sent  to  reliable  printers  and  the  printing  done  without 
any  hitch  of  any  kind.  If  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  can 
have  records  in  immensely  important  cases  printed  in  Louis- 
ville, there  is  no  reason  why  the  courts  out  in  the  State 
couldn't  have  it  done. 

Now,  as  to  not  agreeing  on  abstracts,  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals rules  can  provide  this :  That  one  side  shall  file  its  ab- 
stract, and  if  that  is  not  satisfactory  the  other  side  can  file 
its  counter-abstract,  and  if  they  can  not  agree,  the  court  can 
settle  it. 

Mr.  Straus  :  What  do  you  think  about  the  power  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  to  regulate  that. 

Mr.  Baskin:  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  on  earth 
about  it.  I  would  suggest  as  an  amendment  to  the  motion 
of  Mr.  Strother  that  the  committee  be  directed  to  print  and 
present  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  a  memorial  setting  forth 
such  statistics  and  facts  as  are  desired  and  suggesting  that 
the  rules  be  changed  so  as  to  require  a  condensation  and 
printing  of  the  records. 

Mr.  Strother  :  I  shall  have  to  decline  to  accept  that.  I 
think  the  matter  should  be  left  to  the  committee.  I  believe 
when  the  President  appoints  the  committee  it  will  be  so  con- 
stituted as  to  represent  the  sentiment  of  the  meeting. 

Mr.  Baskin  :  You  don't  want  a  system  put  in  operation 
unless  it  meets  the  approval  of  the  majority  of  the  bar? 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  89- 

Mr.  Strother  :     Certainly  not. 

Mr.  Baskin  :  Then  1  suggest  that  your  motion  be 
amended  by  saying  that  the  committee  be  authorized  to  do 
what  I  suggest.    Will  you  accept  that? 

Mr.  Helm  :     It  seems  to  me  they  do  that  anyway. 

Mr.  6'trother:  Do  you  mean  that  they  be  authorized 
without  being  directed? 

Mr.  Baskin:    Yes. 

The  President  :  Will  you  please  state  what  the  motion 
would  be  then,  as  amended? 

Mr.  Baskin  :  The  motion  would  be  that  the  two  papers 
of  Mr.  Trabue  and  Mr.  Seymour  be  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Law  Reform,  and  that  they  be  authorized,  in  view  of 
these  papers  and  such  information  as  they  can  get,  to  draw 
a  proper  bill  or  rule  of  court  to  reach  this  matter  in  the  most 
direct  and  best  way. 

Mr.  Cromwell:  I  am  greatly  in  favor  of  the  system 
that  has  been  mentioned  being  carried  into  effect  by  rule  or 
statute,  but  it  must  appear  to  any  gentleman  who  has  had 
legislative  experience  that  there  are  likely  to  be  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  this  reform.  Some  of  them  have  been  pointed 
out  by  Mr.  Galloway,  and  there  might  come  objection  from 
the  clerks  that  it  would  reduce  their  revenue. 

It  certainly  would  be  a  great  thing  to  reduce  the  size  of 
the  records  yearly  sent  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  there  is 
one  thing  that  I  would  like  at  this  early  stage  to  call  to  tha 
attention  of  this  Association,  and  that  is  the  manner  in  which 
the  records  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  are  preserved.  I  am 
reliably  informed  that  there  are  from  eight  to  twelve  hun- 


90  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

dred  cases  of  valuable  records  in  that  building,  which  is  not 
fire-proof  and  which  has  no  protection,  and  this  condition 
has  existed  for  the  last  thirty  years.  These  records  have 
been  furnished  at  great  expense  by  litigants,  and  if  they 
should  be  destroyed,  it  would  require  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  dollars  to  supply  them.  I  think  a  committee  should 
be  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  question  of  pro- 
tecting these  valuable  records  for  the  litigants  and  lawyers 
of  the  State. 

Mr.  Gray:  As  was  suggested  by  yourself  upon  your 
induction  into  office,  there  is  no  need  of  spreading  out  too 
much.  From  the  various  speeches  I  fear  we  are  in  danger 
of  spreading  considerable.  The  trouble  with  the  attorneys 
generally  is  that  they  are  always  looking  out  for  somebody 
besides  themselves.  They  want  reform,  and  they  want  it 
bad :  at  least  they  want  it  down  here  in  Louisville ;  but  they 
don't  want  it  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  clerk.  Well,  all 
reforms  hurt  somebody.  It  is  a  general  tendency  to  get  into 
evil  ways,  and  it  necessarily  hurts  those  who  are  in  bad  ways 
when  the  time  for  reform  comes.  Now  the  whole  talk  has 
been  upon  the  subject  of  a  curtailment  of  the  extent  of 
record.  The  first  paper  seemed  to  me  to  contain  equally  as 
good  a  suggestion  and  the  more  important  principle,  and  that 
is  that  the  subject  is  one  that  must  be  accomplished  through 
the  Legislature;  it  can  not  be  accomplished  by  or  through 
the  courts  alone.  The  inclination  in  these  days  is  that  when 
a  lawyer  has  been  elevated  to  the  bench  he  thinks  he  is 
something  superior  to  the  balance  of  the  lawyers.  It  seems 
to  me  one  of  the  reforms  that  this  committee  ought  to  take! 
charge  of  is  that  when  the  Judge  of  the  lower  court  is  disin- 
clined to  allow  an  appeal,  that  the  party  can  go  to  the  clerk 
and  get  the  necessary  record,  ordering  the  whole  or  part  of 
it,  and  take  it  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  perfect  his  appeal 
there. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  91 

Now  SO  much  for  that.  Now  this  is  primarily  a  meeting 
for  our  own  benefit,  and  I  think  it  is  time  that  we  should 
become  acquainted  with  each  other.  I  believe  it  is  the 
desire  of  each  and  every  one  of  us  to  facilitate  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law.  Now,  then,  if  in  that  desire  we  must 
lead  somebody  or  other  in  the  race,  of  course  it  must  fall 
upon  the  poor  clerk,  because  it  seems  to  be  a  universal  senti- 
ment that  there  is  no  desire  to  hurt  either  the  lawyers  or  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Now  as  to  whether  the  Court  of  Appeals  has  the  power 
to  act  on  this  matter  by  rule.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  a  good 
deal  harder  and  more  circuitous  to  get  the  Court  of  Appeals 
to  act  by  making  rules  than  it  would  be  to  have  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature  passed. 

I  don't  anticipate  the  antagonisms  from  the  lawyers  that 
some  of  the  gentlemen  seem  to.  I  think  when  the  time  comes 
the  attorneys  will  get  together,  but  I  want  to  make  this  sug- 
gestion. These  are  times  of  great  combinations — I  won't 
say  anything  about  trusts — I  say  great  combinations.  We 
are  all  like  laborers,  all  working  to  accomplish  what  we 
desire.  The  suggestion  is  by  one  member  that  of  we  make 
these  condensed  printed  records  it  will  hurt  the  poor  clerk. 
The  clerk  generally  has  to  manage  to  take  care  of  himself, 
and  you  can  depend  on  his  doing  it.  But  if  you  are  going 
to  try  to  look  out  for  everybody  and  get  up  some  reforms  that 
don't  hurt  anybody,  you  might  as  well  save  the  time  and 
stop  right  here.  I  am  in  favor  of  condensation,  clerk  or  no 
clerk.     I  am  for  the  lawyer  first,  last  and  all  the  time. 

Mr.  Montgomery:  My  friend  is  a  man  after  my  own 
heart.  Now  we  are  proposing  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals.  I  have  always  had  some  jealousy  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  because  I  could  not  get  to  be  a  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals  myself. 


92  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

Now,  some  one  said  the  United  States  Courts  were  thieves 
of  jurisdiction.  The  Court  of  Appeals  is  just  the  reverse. 
They  worked  on  the  Legislature  until  they  ran  their  juris- 
diction up  to  $200.  For  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  the  cases 
that  I  wanted  to  appeal  most  were  these  little  ones,  and  when 
we  were  allowed  to  appeal  on  the  smaller  sums  I  noticed  that 
the  judges  were  a  good  deal  more  particular  about  their 
decisions.  Those  small  cases  are  the  ones  that  most  urgently 
need  appealing  sometimes.  Those  are  poor  men's  cases.  I 
have  always  been  a  poor  man's  lawyer.  Rich  men  didn't 
need  me.  I  think  if  we  haven't  judges  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals  enough  to  do  the  work,  we  ought  to  have  more 
judges  so  as  to  allow  us  to  have  more  appeals. 

As  to  these  abstracts  they  are  talking  about,  it  reminds 
me  very  much  of  a  case  down  in  the  country  where  a  man 
brought  suit  for  a  horse.  Now  I  am  not  much  posted  on 
these  rejoinders  and  surrejoinders  and  all  those  other  things, 
but  first  there  was  a  petition,  then  the  answer,  then  the 
reply,  then  the  rejoinder  and  then  the  surrejoinder  and  all 
those  things,  but  anyhow,  although  the  man  brought  suit  for 
the  horse,  when  they  got  to  the  judgment  the  judgment  was 
for  a  yellow  dog,  and  when  you  get  to  abstracting  these 
cases  I  am  afraid  you  will  be  just  as  far  away  from  the 
original  case. 

But  as  to  this  objection  about  hurting  the  clerks;  if  the 
clerks  can't  make  a  living  let  them  go  to  farmmg. 

Now  I  don't  know  how  it  is  about  Louisville,  but  I  know 
it  is  hard  to  make  buckle  and  tongue  meet  out  in  the  country. 
I  tell  you  with  a  family  of  nine  my  most  difficult  arithmetic 
in  the  practice  of  law  is  to  get  beefsteak  to  go  around. 

A  Member  :  Will  you  kindly  tell  us  which  side  you  are 
on? 

Mr.  Montgomery:     I  don't  believe  in  that  abstracting. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  93 

Mr.  Straus  :    I  move  the  previous  question. 

A  vote  being  taken,  the  previous  question  was  ordered 
and  a  further  vote  being  taken,  the  motion  of  Mr.  Strother 
as  amended  by  Mr.  Baskin  was  carried. 

Mr.  Cromwell  :  Now,  as  suggested  awhile  ago,  I  move 
that  a  committee  of  five  from  different  parts  of  the  State, 
with  a  Chairman  who  resides  in  Louisville,  be  appointed  to 
consider  means  of  protecting  the  records  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals. 

A  vote  being  taken,  the  motion  was  carried  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed  as  follows : 

Judge  Pirtle,  of  Louisville,  Mr.  Cromwell,  of  Frankfort, 
Governor  Bryan  of  Covington,  Judge  Settle,  of  Bowling 
Green,  and  Mr.  Helm,  of  Newport. 

Out-of-town  resolutions  were  presented  by  Mr.  McDer- 
mott  as  follows : 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Grant  County  Bar, 
held  at  the  Courthouse  in  Williamstown,  Kentucky,  on  Mon- 
day, the  18th  day  of  November,  1901,  Hon.  A.  G.  DeJarnette 
was  elected  Chairman,  and  H.  Clay  White  was  elected  Sec- 
retary. Hon.  W.  W.  Dickerson,  by  request  of  the  Chairman, 
addressed  the  members  of  the  bar,  stating  the  object  of  this 
meeting  to  be,  to  select  delegates  to  attend  a  meeting  of 
the  members  of  the  bar  of  the  State  of  Kentucky  to  organize 
a  State  Bar  Association,  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  on  Tuesday,  November  19,  1901.  On  motion  of 
W.  W.  Dickerson  a  committee  of  three  members  of  the  bar 
was  selected  to  prepare  resolutions  and  to  select  delegates  to 
attend  said  bar  meeting  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  there- 
upon the  Chairman  appointed  Hon.  W.  W.  Dickerson,  Judge 


94  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

C.  C.  Cram,  and  Judge  J.  H.  Westover  as  members  of  said 
Committee,  who  retired  and  then  reported  to  the  meeting 
their  resolutions,  which  were  read  and  adopted,  which  resolu- 
tions are  as  follows : 

We,  your  Committee  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  ex- 
pressive of  the  sentiments  of  the  Grant  County  Bar  in  refer- 
ence to  organization  of  a  local  and  State  Bar  Association,  beg 
leave  to  report  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  Grant  County  Bar 
that  a  State  and  Local  Bar  Association  ought  to  be  formed 
for  the  protection  of  the  legal  fraternity,  the  client,  and  for 
the  betterment  of  the  conditions  of  the  practice  of  the  State ; 
fhat  we  send  to  the  State  meeting  at  Louisville,  on  Tuesday, 
November  19,  1901,  as  delegates  from  this  bar,  to  represent 
our  interests  at  the  proposed  State  meeting,  Capt.  A.  G. 
DeJarnette,  the  Dean  of  this  bar,  and  M.  D.  Gray,  and  that 
this  bar,  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Association,  organize 
a  permanent  local  association  as  soon  as  the  State  Associa- 
tion is  perfected  and  Constitution  and  rules  for  the  said 
organization  can  be  had. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that 
the  proposed  Bar  Association  can  be  of  great  benefit  and 
material  aid  to  the  commercial  interest  of  this  State  by  cor- 
recting inequalities  in  the  law  and  by  suggesting  proper 
future  legislation  and  modifications  in  existing  laws,  and 
thereby  becoming  a  material  aid  in  the  development  of  the 
material  and  best  interest  of  the  State. 

Respectfully, 

W.  W.  DiCKERSON, 

C.  C.  Cram, 
J.  H.  Westover. 

On  motion  is  jvas  ordered  that  the  Secretary  of  this  meet- 
ing send  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  to  Hon. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  95 

Edward  J.  McDermott,  Secretary  of  the  Bar  Association  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  and  to  the  Courier-Journal  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  to  Williamstown  Courier  for  publication. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned  until  next  Saturday, 
November  23,  1901,  at  2  o'clock  P.  M. 

A.  G.  DeJarnette,  Chairman. 

H.  Clay  White,  Secretary. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Pirtle,  the  communication  was  received 
and  filed. 

Mr.  Montgomery  :  I  want  to  offer  a  resolution  that  the 
Committee  on  Law  Reform  should  try  to  get  some  law  passed 
that  if  there  is  a  decision  below  upon  a  demurrer  which  of 
itself  would  determine  the  matter,  that  can  be  taken  to 
the  Court  of  Appeals  without  waiting  for  a  trial  of  the  case. 

The  motion  was  lost  for  want  of  a  second. 

Mr.  Thornton  :  Ought  we  not  to  have  some  arrange- 
ment about  printing  the  Constitution? 

Judge  Pirtle  :  That  can  be  attended  to  under  the  gen- 
eral power  vested  in  the  committee. 

Mr.  Thornton  :  I  move  that  the  Executive  Committee 
be  directed  to  have  the  Constitution  and  list  of  committees 
distributed  to  the  bar  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Galloway  :  I  would  like  to  amend  that  by  including 
the  proceedings  of  the  meeting. 

Mr.  Thornton:  I  have  no  objection  to  that  if  it  is 
thought  necessary. 

Mr.  Galloway  :  Then  let  it  be  that  the  committee  can 
print  such  parts  as  they  desire. 

This  was  accepted,  and  the  motion  was  carried. 

On  motion  the  meeting  then  adjourned  and  partook  of  a 
repast  that  was  served  in  the  rooms  of  the  Louisville  Bar 
Association. 


96  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 


CONSTITUTION. 


NAME. 


Article  I.  This  Association  shall  be  known  as  The 
Kentucky  State  Bar  Association. 

OBJECT. 

Article  II.  This  Association  is  formed  to  advance  the 
science  of  jurisprudence,  to  promote  reform  in  the  law,  to 
facilitate  the  administration  of  justice,  to  uphold  integrity, 
honor  and  courtesy  in  the  legal  profession,  to  encourage 
thorough  liberal  legal  education  and  cordial  intercourse 
among  members  of  the  bar. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

Article  III.  The  members  of  the  bar  attending  this  con- 
vention, November  19,  1901,  from  counties  in  which  there  is 
no  local  Bar  Association,  and  members  of  local  Bar  Associa- 
tions in  attendance  upon  this  convention,  are  hereby  declared 
to  be  members  of  this  Association,  provided  they  shall,  dur- 
ing the  present  session,  pay  the  annual  dues  and  sign  the 
Constitution.  Any  member  of  the  bar  of  good  standing,  re- 
siding or  practicing  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  may  become  a 
member  of  the  Association  upon  nomination  and  vote,  as 
hereinafter  provided.  All  members  of  local  Bar  Associa- 
tions, during  the  year  ensuing  from  the  19th  of  November, 
1901,  shall  become  members  of  this  Association  upon  paying 
the  annual  dues,  and  such  members  may  sign  the  Constitu- 
tion at  any  time  within  the  year. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  97 

ELECTION  OF  MEMBERS. 

Article  IV.  The  nominations  for  membership  shall  be 
made  by  the  Committee  on  Membership,  and  must  be  trans- 
mitted in  writing  to  the  President,  and  by  him  reported  to 
the  Association,  and  if  any  member  demands  a  vote  upon  the 
names  or  any  of  those  thus  reported,  the  Association  shall 
thereupon  vote  thereon  by  ballot.  Several  names  may  be 
voted  upon  the  same  ballot,  and  in  such  a  case  the  placing 
of  the  word  "no"  against  any  name  or  names  upon  the 
ticket  shall  be  deemed  a  negative  vote  against  such  name  or 
names,  and  against  those  only.  One  negative  vote  in  every 
five  shall  suffice  to  defeat  the  election.  No  member  of  the 
bar  residing  in  a  county  where  there  is  a  Bar  Association 
shall  become  a  member  of  this  Association,  unless  he  shall 
also  be  a  member  of  the  local  Association. 

OFFICERS. 

Article  V.  The  officers  of  the  Association  shall  be  a  Pres- 
ident, who  shall  be  ineligible  for  a  second  term;  one  Vice- 
President  for  each  Court  of  Appeals  district  represented  in 
the  Association ;  a  Secretary,  and  a  Treasurer.  All  of  these 
shall  be  elected  at  the  annual  meeting  and  hold  their  office 
until  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Association,  and  until 
their  successors  are  elected. 

COMMITTEES. 

Article  VI.  There  shall  be  an  Executive  Committee,  which 
shall  consist  of  the  President,  the  last  ex-President,  the  Sec- 
retary, and  the  Treasurer,  all  of  whom  shall  be  ex-officio 
members,  together  with  five  other  members  to  be  chosen  by 
the  Association;  but  no  member  shall  be  eligible  to  such 


98  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

choice  more  than  three  years  in  succession,  and  the  Presi- 
dent, and  in  his  absence  the  ex-President,  shall  be  the  Chair- 
man of  the  committee. 

The  following  committees  shall  be  annually  appointed  by 
the  President  for  the  year  ensuing,  and  shall  consist  of  seven 
members  each : 

1.  On  membership. 

2.  On  law  reform. 

3.  On  legal  education  and  admissions  to  the  bar. 

4.  On  grievances. 

A  majority  of  those  members  of  any  committee  who  may 
be  present  at  any  meeting  of  the  Association  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  of  such  committee  for  the  purpose  of  such  meet- 
ing. 

•  A  committee  of  three,  of  whom  the  Secretary  shall  always 
be  one,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President  at  each  annual 
meeting  of  the  Association,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  report 
to  the  next  annual  meeting  the  names  of  all  members  who 
shall  have  in  the  meantime  died,  with  such  notices  of  them 
as  shall  in  the  discretion  of  the  committee  be  deemed  proper. 

Every  committee  shall  at  each  annual  meeting  report  in 
writing  a  summary  of  its  proceedings  since  its  last  annual 
report,  together  with  any  suggestions  deemed  suitable  to  its 
powers,  duties  or  business. 

COMMITTEE  ON  MEMBERSHIP. 

Article  VII.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Committee  on 
Membership  to  receive  and  consider  proposals  for  member- 
ship in  this  Association,  and  by  an  affirmative  vote  of  four 
members  to  recommend  to  the  Association  persons  duly  pro- 
posed. They  may  make  such  regulations  as  they  deem  need- 
ful as  to  proposals  for  membership. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  99 

DUTY  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  LAW  REFORM. 

Article  VIII .  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Committee  on 
Law  Reform  to  take  notice  of  all  proposed  changes  in  the 
law,  and  when  this  Bar  Association  is  not  in  session,  to  take 
such  action  as  they  may  deem  best  as  to  said  proposed 
changes,  and  to  endeavor  to  procure  such  changes  in  the  law 
as  it  may  deem  advisable,  either  upon  its  own  initiative  or 
upon  recommendation  of  a  local  Bar  Association. 

COMMITTEE  ON  LEGAL  EDUCATION  AND  ADMISSIONS  TO   THE 

BAR. 

Article  IX.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Committee  on 
Legal  Education  and  Admissions  to  the  bar  to  examine  and 
report  what  changes  should  be  made  in  regard  to  legal  edu- 
cation and  admissions  to  the  membership  of  the  profession 
in  the  State  of  Kentucky. 

COMMITTEE  ON  GRIEVANCES. 

Article  X.  The  Committee  on  Grievances  shall  receive 
the  complaints  which  may  be  made  in  matters  affecting  the 
interests  of  the  legal  profession,  the  practice  of  the  law  and 
the  administration  of  justice  and  report  the  same  to  the 
Association  with  such  recommendations  as  it  may  deem  ad- 
visable. The  proceedings  of  this  committee  shall  be  deemed 
confidential  and  kept  secret,  except  so  far  as  reports  of  same 
shall  necessarily  and  officially  be  made  to  the  Association. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

Article  XI.  This  committee  shall  manage  the  affairs  of 
the  Association,  subject  to  the  Constitution  and  By-Laws, 


100  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

and  shall  be  vested  with  the  title  to  all  of  its  property,  and 
shall  make  by-laws,  subject  to  amendment  by  the  Associa- 
tion. 

PRESIDENT. 

Article  XII.  The  President,  or  in  his  absence,  one  of 
the  Vice-Presidents  in  the  order  of  the  appellate  districts 
from  which  they  are  selected,  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of 
the  Association. 

SECRETARY. 

Article  XIII.  The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  record  of  the 
proceedings,  and  shall  conduct  the  correspondence  of  the 
Association,  and  perform  all  the  usual  duties  of  such  office. 

TREASURER. 

Article  XIV.  The  Treasurer  shall  collect,  and  by  order 
of  the  Executive  Committee  disburse  the  funds  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, and  keep  a  record  of  the  accounts,  which  at  all  times 
shall  be  open  to  any  member  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

ANNUAL  MEETINGS. 

Article  XV.  The  Association  shall  meet  annually  at 
such  times  and  places  as  the  Executive  Committee  may  se- 
lect, and  those  present  at  such  meeting  shall  constitute  a 
quorum. 

DUES. 

Article  XVI.  The  annual  dues  of  the  members  shall  be 
$3.00,  payable  yearly  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  the  annual 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  101 

meeting  of  the  Association ;  and  after  each  meeting  of  the 
Association  the  Treasurer  shall  notify  each  member  in  ar- 
rears of  the  amount  due,  and  any  member  who  shall  remain 
in  default  until  the  close  of  the  annual  meeting  next  follow- 
ing such  default  shall  be  suspended  and  dropped  from  the 
rolls,  and  shall  not  be  reinstated  until  the  back  dues  are  paid. 

BY-LAWS. 

Article  XVII.  By-Laws  may  be  adopted  at  any  annual 
meeting  of  the  Association  by  a  majority  of  the  members 
present.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  members  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  to  adopt  suitable  By-Laws,  which  shall  be  in 
force  until  rescinded  by  the  Association. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Article  XVIII.  This  Constitution  may  be  altered  or 
amended  by  the  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  members  present 
at  any  annual  meeting. 


102  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 


BY-LAWS. 


I.  The  order  of  exercises  at  the  annual  meeting  shall  be 
as  follows : 

1.  Opening  address  of  the  President. 

2.  Nomination  and  election  of  members. 

3.  Reports  of  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

4.  Reports  of  Executive  Committee. 

5.  Reports  of  Standing  Committees. 

6.  Nomination  of  officers. 

7.  Miscellaneous  business. 

•  8.  Election  of  officers  and  the  Executive  Committee. 

II.  No  person  shall  speak  more  than  ten  minutes  at  a 
time  nor  more  than  twice  upon  one  subject. 

III.  At  any  meeting  of  the  Association,  members  of  the: 
bar  of  any  foreign  country,  or  of  any  other  State,  may  be 
admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  floor  during  such  meeting. 

IV.  The  Executive  Committee  at  its  first  meeting  after 
each  annual  meeting  shall  select  one  person  to  make  an 
address  at  the  next  annual  meeting,  and  not  to  exceed  five 
members  of  the  Association  to  read  papers. 

V.  The  Executive  Committee  shall  publish  some  days  in 
advance  of  each  annual  meeting  a  statement  of  the  person 
who  is  to  deliver  the  address  and  the  persons  who  are  to  read 
papers,  and  the  subjects  of  each. 

VI.  All  papers  read  before  the  Association  shall  be 
lodged  with  the  Secretary. 

VII.  All  addresses  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting,  and 
such  of  the  proceedings  thereof  as  are  deemed  important, 
may  be  printed  as  the  Executive  Committee  may  order. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  103 ' 

VIII.  After  the  reading  of  each  paper  an  opportunity- 
shall  be  given  for  discussion  upon  the  topic  of  the  paper. 

IX.  The  President  shall  within  thirty  days  after  the 
annual  meeting  appoint  all  committees  which  he  is  author- 
ized to  appoint  by  the  Constitution,  and  shall  announce  them 
to  the  Secretary,  who  shall  promptly  give  notice  to  the  per- 
sons appointed. 

X.  The  terms  of  office  of  the  members  of  the  several 
committees  appointed  by  the  President  shall  commence  im- 
mediately upon  their  appointment. 

XI.  Each  committee  shall  elect  its  own  officers,  except 
as  otherwise  provided  in  the  Constitution,  whose  term  of 
office  shall  commence  on  their  election  and  continue  until 
the  appointment  of  their  successors. 

XII.  In  addition  to  called  meetings,  the  Standing  Com- 
mittees shall  meet  on  the  day  preceding  each  annual  meet- 
ing, at  the  place  where  the  same  is  to  be  held,  at  such  hour 
as  the  respective  Chairman  may  designate. 

XIII.  Special  meetings  of  any  committee  must  be  called 
by  its  Chairman,  when  he  may  deem  it  proper  or  when 
requested  so  to  do  by  two  members  thereof.  The  time  and 
place  of  such  special  meetings,  when  called  as  aforesaid, 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Chairman.  Reasonable  notice  shall 
be  given  by  the  Chairman  of  the  special  meetings  to  each 
member  by  mail. 

XIV.  The  Treasurer's  accounts  shall  be  examined  and 
audited  annually  before  its  presentation  to  the  Association 
by  two  members,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee. 

XV.  The  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Kentucky, 
and  of  the  several  Circuit  Courts  of  the  State,  and  the  judges 
of  the  United  States  Courts  who  are  members  of  the  Ken- 
tucky bar,  are  ex-officio  members  of  this  Association. 


104  KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 

XVI.  It  shall  be  tKe  duty  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
at  least  six  weeks  prior  to  the  next  ensuing  annual  meeting, 
to  negotiate  and  complete  all  proper  arrangements  for  re- 
duced rates  of  travel  for  those  attending;  and  through  its 
Chairman,  at  least  two  weeks  before  the  annual  meeting,  to 
advise  the  members  of  the  Association  by  printed  programs 
sent  out  to  them. 

XVII.  All  applications  for  membership  shall  be  accom- 
panied with  the  annual  dues  of  the  ensuing  year,  and  upon 
default  so  to  do  such  application  shall  be  returned  to  such 
applicant  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Association  or  the  Commit- 
tee on  Membership. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 


105 


ROLL  OF  MEMBERS. 


Ahlering,  G.  H.,  Newport. 
Allen,  Lafon,  Louisville. 
Anderson,  W.  G.,  Louisville. 
Bailey,  S.  C,  Newport. 
Barker,  Thomas  A.,  Louisville. 
Barret,  Mason,  Louisville. 
Barrett,  Alex.  G.,  Louisville. 
Baskin,  John  B.,  Louisville. 
Beckley,  P.  C,  Louisville, 
Beckner,  W.  M.,  Winchester. 
Bingham,  R.  W.,  Louisville. 
Booth,  Percy  N.,  Louisville. 
Brent,  George  A.,  Louisville. 
Brandeis,  Albert  S.,  Louisville. 
Briggs,  George  G.,  Louisville. 
Brown,  Thomas  R.,  Catlettsburg. 
Bruce,  H.  W.,  Louisville. 
Bruce,  Helm,  Louisville. 
Bryan,  James  W.,  Covington. 
Buchanan,  Lytle,  Louisville. 
Bugg,  R.  J.,  Bardwell. 
Bullitt,  Thomas  W.,  Louisville. 
Bullitt,  Wm.  M.,  Louisville. 
Burnett,  Henry,  Louisville. 
Burton,  George  L.,  Louisville. 
Byrne,  Wm.  A.,  Covington. 
Brown,  John  Mason,  Louisville. 
Campbell,  James,  Paducah. 
Carroll,  John  D.,  Newcastle. 
Clay,  Buckner,  Paris. 
Cox,  Attilla,  Jr.,  Louisville. 
Cooper,  Hugh  P.,  Lebanon. 
Crabb,  Wilson  D.,  Louisville. 
Cromwell,  Wm.,  Frankfort. 


Dallam,  Clarence,  Louisville. 
Davis,  W.  O.,  Versailles. 
Davies,  W.  W.,  Louisville. 
Dickson,  Emmet  M.,  Paris. 
Dixon,  Wm.  B.,  Louisville. 
Dodd,  J.  L.,  Louisville. 
Dodd,  J.  C,  Louisville. 
Doolan,  John  C,  Louisville. 
Eagles,  Wm.  B.,  Louisville. 
Esslinger,  John  A.,  Louisville. 
Farnsley,  B.  H.,  Louisville. 
Field,  William,  Louisville. 
Flexner,  Bernard,  Louisville. 
Ford,  James  T.,  Louisville. 
Galloway,  John  M.,  Bowling  Green. 
Galvin,  John,  Covington. 
Gordon,  Thomas  R.,  Louisville. 
Gordon,  Robert,  Louisville. 
Graham,  J.  C,  Leitchfield. 
Gray,  Richard  H.,  Covington. 
Green,  Pinckney  F.,  Louisville. 
Grubbs,  Charles  S.,  Louisville. 
Grubbs,  Rodman,  Louisville. 
Harbeson,  M.  L.,  Covington. 
Harris,  W.  O.,  Louisville. 
Helm,  Charles  J.,  Newport. 
Helm,  James  P.,  Louisville. 
Helm,  T.  K.,  Louisville. 
Hillsman,  Wm.  P.,  Louisville. 
Hodge,  John  T.,  Newport. 
Holmes,  R.  S.,  Covington. 
Humphrey,  A.  P.,  Louisville. 
Humphrey,  B.  P.,  Louisville. 
Jackman,  John  S.,  Louisville. 


106 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION. 


Jarvls,  William,  Louisville. 
Johnson,  H.  M.,  Louisville. 
Johnson,  Jep.  C,  Greenville. 
Jolley,  G.  W.,  Owensboro. 
Jouett,  E.  S.,  Winchester. 
Joyes,  Morton  V.,  Louisville. 
Kutzleb,  Anton,  Louisville. 
Kaiser,  E.  F.  W.,  Louisville. 
Lindsay,  C.  M.,  Louisville. 
Lindsey,  D.  W.,  Frankfort. 
Mackoy,  H.  B.,  Covington. 
Mackoy,  W.  H.,  Covington. 
Miller,  Richard  W.,  Richmond. 
Montgomery,  Jas.,  Elizabethtown. 
Morancy,  Frank  W.,  Louisville. 
McCartney,  W.  P.,  Paducah. 
McDermott,  E.  J.,  Louisville. 
McDonald,  E.  L.,  Louisville. 
McDonald,  A.  W.,  Louisville. 
McDowell,  R.  A.,  Louisville. 
McDowell,  Charles,  Danville. 
McElroy,  C.  U.,  Bowling  Green. 
McLeod,  Field,  Versailles. 
McQuown,  Lewis,  Bowling  Green. 
Muir,  Upton  W.,  Louisville. 
Nelson,  R.  W.,  Newport. 
Newman,  Geo.  A.,  Jr.,  Louisville. 
O'Doherty,  Matt.,  Louisville. 
O'Meara,  J.  P.,  Elizabethtown. 
Peckinpaugh,  N.  R.,  Louisville. 
Pendleton,  D.  L.,  Winchester. 
Pirtle,  James  S.,  Louisville. 
Price,  W.  A.,  Covington. 
Quarles,  James,  Louisville. 
Ray,  Charles  T.,  Louisville. 
Reed,  J.  D.,  Louisville. 
Reed,  W.  M.,  Paducah. 
Richards,  A.  E.,  Lou4sville. 
Rouse,  S.  D.,  Covington. 
Russell,  John  C,  Louisville. 


Rutledge,  A.  M.,  Louisville. 
Sampson,  J.  R.,  Middlesboro. 
Scott,  W.  M.,  Shelbyville. 
Selligman,  Alfred,  Louisville. 
Selligman,  Joseph,  Louisville. 
Seymour,  C.  B.,  Louisville. 
Shaw,  W.  McB.,  Covington. 
Sherley,  Swagar,  Louisville. 
Simmons,  Robert  D.,  Covington. 
Smith  Geo.  Weissinger,  Louisville. 
Snively,  Theo.  C,  Louisville. 
Sprague,  E.  W.,  Louisville. 
Strother,  John  C,  Louisville. 
Straus,  F.  P.,  Louisville. 
Sullivan,  J.  A.,  Richmond. 
Sullivan,  J.  H.,  Louisville, 
Taylor,  H.  P.,  Hartford. 
Theobald,  Thomas  D.,  Grayson. 
Thornton,  D.  L.,  Versailles. 
Thornton,  R.  A.,  Lexington. 
Thum,  W.  W.,  Louisville. 
Trabue,  E.  F.,  Louisville. 
Tracy,  Frank  M.,  Covington. 
Twyman,  I.  W.,  Hodgenville. 
Walker,  C.  A.  J.,  Covington. 
Washington,  George,  Newport. 
Wathen,  Chapeze,  Owensboro. 
Watkins,  H.  A.,  Munfordsville. 
Watts,  J.  R.,  Louisville. 
Watts,  W.  W.,  Louisville. 
Wehle,  O.  A.,  Louisville. 
Willis,  L.  C,  Shelbyville. 
Willson,  A.  E.,  Louisville. 
Wilson,  S.  M.,  Lexington. 
Woodson,  Isaac  T.,  Louisville. 
Wortham,  J.  S.,  Leitchfield. 
Wright,  James  C,  Newport. 
Yeaman,  L.  R.,  Louisville. 
Yeaman,  Malcolm,  Henderson. 


KENTUCKY  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  107 


HONORARY  MEMBERS, 


Court  of  Appeals  and  Circuit  Judtfes,  Honorary  Members  Ex-Officio. 


Hon.  B.  L.  D.  Guffy,  Frankfort.        Hon.  John  T.  Hodge,  Newport 
Hon.  George  DuRelle,  Frankfort.    Hon.  Hanson  Kennedy,  Carlisle. 
Hon.  Thos.  H.  Paynter,  Frankfort.  Hon.  James  Paxton  Harbeson, 
Hon.  James  D.  White,  Frankfort.  Flemingsburg. 

Hon.  A.  R.  Burnam,  Frankfort.        Hon.  S.  J,  Kinner,  Catlettsburg. 
Hon.  John  P.  Hobson,  Frankfort.     Hon.  John  E.  Cooper,  Mt.  Sterling. 
Hon.  Ed,  C.  O'Rear,  Frankfort.        Hon.  Watts  Parker,  Lexington. 
Hon.  J.  E.  Robblns,  Mayfield.  Hon.  D.  B.  Redwine,  Jackson. 

Hon.  L.  D.  Husbands,  Paducah.        Hon.  A.  J.  Auxier,  Pikeville. 
Hon.  Thos.  P.  Cook,  Murray.  Hon.  Thomas  J.  Scott,  Richmond. 

Hon.  T.  J.  Nunn,  Madisonville.        Hon,  M.  J.  Moss,  Pineville. 
Hon.  John  L.  Dorsey,  Henderson.     Hon,  S.  B.  Dishman,  Barbourville. 
Hon.  W.  T.  Owen,  Owensboro.  Hon.  Z.  T.  Morrow,  Somerset. 

Hon.  S.  R.  Crewdson,  Russellville.  Hon.  W.  W.  Jones,  Columbia. 
Hon.  W.  E.  Settle,  Bowling  Green.  Hon.  Shackelford  Miller,  Louisville 
Hon.  T.  R.  McBeath,  Leitchfield.      Hon.  Henry  S,  Barker,  Louisville. 
Hon.  Samuel  E,  Jones,  Glasgow.      Hon.  Emmett  Field,  Louisville. 
Hon,  Chas.  Patteson,  Campbellsv'e,  Hon,  Sterling  B,  Toney,  Louisville. 
Hon.  W.  M.  Carroll,  Newcastle.        Hon.  John  M.  Harlan, 
Hon.  M.  C,  Saufley,  Stanford,  Washington,  D,  C. 

Hon.  Jas.  E.  Cantrill,  Georgetown.  Hon.  Walter  Evans,  Louisville. 
Hon.  John  M.  Lassing,  Burlington.  Hon.  A.  M.  J.  Cochran,  Maysville. 
Hon.  Jas,  P,  Tarvin,  Covington. 


INDEX 


Pag© 

Address — Opening — E.    J.    McDermott 37 

Temporary  Chairman,  Warren  E.  Settle 40 

,  Bar  Association,   T.   Kennedy   Helm 47 

President,  W.   H.    Macboy 58 

How  to  Make  Appeals  Cheap,  Easy  and  Available,  C.  B.  Sey- 
mour      62 

A  Query  to  the  Future  of  the  Lawyer,  E.  F.  Trabue 68 

By-Laws    102 

Committees,   EJxecutive,    1901-2 35-61 

Executive,    1909-10    2 

Law   Reform,    1901-2    35 

Legal   Education,    1901-2 36 

Membership,    1901-2 36 

Grievances,    1901-2 36 

Necrology,    1901-2 3.6 

Nomination  of  Officers,  1901 57 

Constitution    96 

Honorary   Members    107 

Introduction,  by  E.  J.  McDermott 3 

Members,    Roll    of 105 

Honorary    107 

Officers.    1901-1902 35-57 

1909-1910     2 

Organization,  Meeting   /. 37 

Roll   of  Members    105 

Honorary    Members    107 


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